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With the new credit card laws coming into effect soon, college students are going to see the credit card companies as a whole new game.   You won’t see as many advertisements on campus, as well as in your mailbox, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t apply for them anymore.  In fact, student based credit cards will always be around, but no matter how you get them, there are certain things that you should keep in mind when using them.

Always pay them off in full

Credit cards aren’t a game, and they aren’t intended to be used as “free money”.  This is obviously money that you’re going to have to pay back.  Whenever you swipe your card, you will have to get into the habit of paying it back at the end of the month.  If you start missing payments, or just paying the minimum payment, you’re going to soon find out that it’s going to take you ages to pay it off, solely because of the lousy interest rates!

Try and pay the minimum

I know I stated that you should pay them off in full in point 1, but you also have to remember that every time you don’t make a payment at all, you’re going to hurt your credit score.  Your score is going to be your future to a good mortgage rate, as well as a car loan.  It’s essential that you try, and pay the minimum.  Even if you have thousands of dollars on your bill, your minimum is generally fairly low.

Take advantage of the rewards

The only reason that I used a credit card during college was because of the rewards.  You’re going to find out that there are still rewards out there, but it’s up to you on what kind you want.  The card that I have now gives me 1 – 5 points for every dollar spent.  Once I get around 5,000 points, I can get a gift card to many major retailers such as Best Buy, and others.  Again, make sure that you pay your bill off in full to take full advantage of the rewards, because if you don’t, you will find out that the interest rates will outnumber your reward points.

Limit yourself to one card

If you start to find that your wallet is filling up with more than one card, you may find out that sooner or later, it’s going to be a lot harder to manage your finances.  How are you supposed to know what is on what card?  This can potentially lead you to a lot of debt in the near future.

Watch your budget, and know what you’re spending, and you’re soon going to find out that it’s not really that hard to manage a credit card.  As long as you follow these really simple pointers, and you don’t treat your card like monopoly money, you shouldn’t have a hard time using a card like an young adult should.