The following originally aired on KQED-FM.

By: Maya Cueva

This Sunday I am heading to Europe with four of my best friends. In order to make sure we see and do everything under the Tuscan sun, we have to carefully budget the whole trip. And while in school, my friends and I have taken language courses to prepare, I’ve been thinking that a lesson on how to handle our cash may have been more useful.

In high school, I took an Economics class for a semester and can now recite the concept of supply and demand, how to calculate GDP, and how to maximize opportunity cost. But in that class we spent only two days learning about matters of personal finance, like what counts as a liquid asset and how people often run into debt. The California State Frameworks didn’t leave much room for teaching about personal and household budgeting, which is why my teacher couldn’t go into much depth.

I’ll never forget when I was nine years old. My parents had recently separated and my mom just moved into a new apartment. One of the first nights, I distinctly remember my mom talking in her sleep. “You have to have good credit, you need good credit.”

I’m Asha Richardson with a commentary from Youth Radio.

The Credit CARD Act effective this week changes everything for the under 21 set. You don’t have an income? You don’t have a credit card. Your parent refuses to co-sign? You still don’t have a credit card.

As scared as I am of credit cards, I see how they are really necessary for other people. I have friends who depend on credit cards for groceries, textbooks or plane tickets to go back home for breaks. Budget cuts are just making college more expensive and private loans are hard to come by.

The Credit CARD act will help a lot of my peers because it saves them from themselves. Still, it doesn’t answer the challenges of responsible, broke students trying to make it through the recession.

For Youth Radio, I’m Asha Richardson.

Previously:

• Financial Dreamers
• Learning Wall Street's Ropes
• Dead End Economy

When getting ready to go to college my mother told me not to sign up for any credit cards offers unless I talked to her first. College students are constantly targeted by credit card companies at college fairs, pre-approved cards, freebies and more. But not so much anymore thanks to the new credit card from reform. Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, also known as the Credit CARD Act, will go into effect on Feb. 22, 2010. This is meant to help protect people from credit card companies hidden fees, change in APR (interest), and fine print. When proposing the bill President Obama said, "Americans know that they have a responsibility to live within their means and pay what they owe but they also have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties and hidden fees that have become all too common in our credit card industry."
 

The Credit CARD Act has many aspects to help Americans, and is going to attempt to help the Under 21year olds who often get swept up in the instant gratification of credit. The Act will affect Under 21 year olds in several ways:

Basically,
• Credit for young consumers: Ban credit cards for people under 21 unless they have a co-signer or proof that they have income to pay them back, Bans pre-screening and pre approved credit cards, and the Under 21 year old has get permission from co-signer to increase credit limits on joint accounts
• College marketing: Colleges have to disclose the student information they give credit card information; Credit card issuers are required to file annual reports with the Federal Reserve Board detailing the terms and conditions of all business, marketing and promotional deals with colleges and universities, including the amount of any payments made to the school; Recommend colleges universities and alumni associations to not allow credit card companies to promote on campus or near campus (now near campus is defined as 1,000 miles from the border of the campus)
• No more freebies or promotional gifts to get young
More details
(VIA: Creditcard.com)

College students have already reacted. Some student like Cierra Jackson, a 21-year-old public relations major at Florida A & M University, says "I think it's a good law. Most people get credit cards and are in debt before they finish their first year in college." While others are strongly opposed like Todd VanDuzer, 19, a business major at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe. He says he has Capital One and Chase credit cards with no debt. He says, "I think such a law is ridiculous because it is further limiting our rights that we deserve as adults. If we can get tried in court as an adult and go to war, we deserve the same rights as an elder would.

Video and more after the Break