Are you looking for credit cards for teens? There are accounts that are geared towards allowing parents to give their older children the ability to have a line of credit in the form of a a credit card design specifically for a teen.

The concept is pretty simple really. Having credit cards for teens might sounds a little scary at first, believe me I would know as I have a 16 year old daughter. However, the idea behind this is really unique. You can get a second card assigned to your account that has special controls or limitations assigned to it.

As children become older their lives tend to expand further from the home. Many older children are active in sports and other activities away from the home. I only know how I feel when I leave home without my wallet. It makes me nervous because if my car breaks down, I would have no money to use towards getting home.

The same goes with older kids. Credit cards for teens are an excellent option, especially for the older ones who are driving. Knowing that if your teen got stranded, wouldn’t it be comforting to know that they have specially designed credit cards to use in an emergency situation? Something to think about, huh?

Use Better Credit Cards
Written by Keith James Lock

The debt starts early. They have people hanging out at your college campus giving you guaranteed approved credit cards. They tell you that it is only a $500 limit but it will help you establish a credit history. And although those things can be true, for most of us, it was the beginning of our debt history.

$500 on a credit card to a college goer that paid his tuition with loans, doesn’t have a job and still lives with his parents is new found money. 4 of my friends and I were approached on the way out of class one day by one of these recruiters and we fell for the bait…an attractive young female throwing some subtle flirtatious remarks and offering us some “independence”.

Actually one of my buddies decided against getting one. Go figure, he was the one that had a paper route near the end of grade school and all through high school. His mom would “hold on” to his earnings and give it to him only if she approved of the purchase. He didn’t seem to care, I was furious for him. All she was doing though was teaching him the value of a dollar. And wouldn’t you know it, he was the one that paid his tuition without loans and he had a vehicle!

My other friends though, they were excited as can be. Instead of the usual 6 pack or king can at the weekend party they were showing up at the party with a case of 24. Yeah, the cabby even drove them to the beer store before the party and they were excited because the cab driver even accepted credit card!

Myself, I was somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. I bought clothes and other such boring stuff. I was pretty happy when the bill came because even though I had spent close to $300 I only had to pay $14. Then my next bill came and the balance was higher and I didn’t even use the card that month. Interest of course!

Well, I paid off the bill at that point to avoid anymore interest. Then my limit went up. I can now spend $1000. I guess since I demonstrated that I could pay the bill off they were “allowing” me to spend more. I decided a few things right then and there. Call the bank and demand they bring the limit back down to $500 so that I could avoid temptation.

Also, I would only use the card for emergencies. Now, my definition of an emergency back then is different than it is now but the point remains, no “unnecessary” purchases. And to avoid interest charges I decided to pay off the entire balance each time the bill came in.

Now, I was building a credit rating and being able to make purchases at places that only accepted credit cards. That was my strategy until I finally discovered “better credit cards”.

There are actually cards that pay you to use them. Cash back cards. You get cash back for every purchase. Some will provide other rewards like Air Miles for example. There are still a couple concerns though.

Purchases that you do not pay off in full are still privy to interest charges and the potential to go into debt is still there. Prepaid credit cards to the rescue.

You can use cards that you have to deposit money on before you use them. They are accepted just like regular cards and you can’t go into debt with them.You still have the benefit of making purchases where only credit cards are accepted and with some you can still build credit. They are better credit cards when forced discipline is needed.