College Kids Hit By Recession

Of all the things i want to do with my life after graduating from college, paying off thousands of dollars of debt is not on the list. However, this is growing to be the case for a majority of college students, and whether it is due to irresponsible spending or unfortunate circumstances due to the country's economy, they're feeling the strain. I recently found an article on CNN that talked about how college students were relying more on their credit cards than in earlier years. It stated that

"students are carrying record-high balances: an average of $3,173 for undergraduates, up 46 percent from 2004; and more than $4,100 for graduating seniors, up 41 percent from 2004."

While it does suggest that this is partly due to the rising costs of colleges, it more points to the recession as the cause of this increase. In particular, one student was interviewed, and he admitted that he has not been spending money very intelligently. As well as paying for college, he was paying for two luxury cars on his credit card. However, he has since changed his ways and is now working, attending a community college instead, and not using his credit cards.

I think that this student is a good example of today's kids in general. While it is their parents who work most of the time, and have the major financial responsibilities in the family, the kids have had to change their ways as well. I know that i have had to reduce spending almost to nothing, and i have been trying to get myself a part-time job for some time. Based on my difficulty getting a job, i assume that there are a lot of kids in the same situation.

I would be interested to see how the economy has affected kids at New Trier. Considering the fact that we live in a wealthy area, and the lifestyles of many is rather extravagant, i am sure that many kids are starting to realize that they can no longer afford to live the same way that they have been. It is not just our parents that have to be financially responsible, but it is us too. Any way that we can help to relieve some financial strain is important. I guess that the lesson learned from this article on college students racking up debts on their credit cards is that we all have to cut back. It seems that it would be logical not to buy something that we can't afford, but as a society, America has been in that habit for some time. I think that very soon, people are going to start changing this trend and make a few more sacrifices to avoid debt.