By Ellen Grace

Have you ever stopped to think about how massive the responsibility is for parenting our child? Unfortunately many people do not think about the responsibility and don't take the job seriously enough. There are lots of kids that get very little advice or help from their parents so they turn to others their own age or rely on themselves for making a decision. If being ready for the parenting responsibility was a pre-requisite to having kids nowadays,I think the world population would be pretty small.

I know I am not a perfect parent but I have taken the job seriously. I want my child to know as many life skills prior to her going off to college or university on her own especially when it comes to money and money management. I have taught my daughter how to cook, clean, shop and manage her own money. We have had a great deal of fun in the process of learning financial management. I have also taught the importance of being a good member of our community by volunteering for community events.

When my daughter was a senior in high school, she started receiving applications for student credit cards in the mail almost every month. My first impulse was to throw away the applications. Then I realized that the student credit cards would be a convenient way to make sure that she had the things she needed and it would also be a great lesson in financial management. Student credit cards are often easier to get than a regular card because the credit card company knows you have a limited budget and will issue you a lower credit limit that will allow you to build credit without getting into serious debt. College student credit cards are a great way for students to develop their credit to use later in life, and to buy things they need such as books and school supplies. We sat down and looked at the services of the different companies offering student credit cards from Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and Citibank. Ater we compared all the cards, we picked the two that had the best interest rates as well as a low monthly spending limit. She filled out the applications, and I co-signed them. She got instant approval by both companies and sent cards.

We talked in length about what the college student credit cards could and could not be used for. She had a scholarship that covered tuition and books. She was involved in a part time job on campus that would supply her with some spending money. The credit card was to be used if she needed repairs on her car as well as gas, to pay medical co-pays, and to pay for unexpected bills that may come up and with my approval. The spending limit per month was five hundred dollars. We agreed that her father and I would pay up to two hundred dollars a month on the bill and she would be responsible for the rest. This would amount to the allowance that we would have given her in cash. Any thing over that amount she was responsible for and the bill needed to be paid off each and every month so that she was not paying any interest rates. It is nice to know that she can cover the costs of emergencies and so far she has been very responsible in sticking to the guidelines that we established for her. By the time she is out of college she will have already have an established credit rating and should qualify for lower interest rates of a regular credit card. We thought that this would be a great lesson in life about managing finances and money at an early age, so she can buy her own home at an early age and start paying a mortgage off early in life as well.

Here are some facts and tips you may want to take into consideration when applying for a college student credit card

Determining your credit limit
Once you find a credit card company you want to apply for, your credit limit is determined by your monthly income, if for example you make $800 per month as a part time employee at your local restaurant, then they will determine your credit limit based on that income. Other factors include if you have any current unpaid debts, how long you have been residing at your current residence, how many other credit cards you are currently using, whether you have gone bankrupt before and other factors.

Establishing good credit
Once you receive your credit card, establish a good credit rating by not speding too much and consistently pay off your current balance on a monthly basis and on time. Keep you balance and low and never miss a payment as it can dramatically effect your FICO score if you do.