The Real: “Should kids have a debit/credit card?”

[stewie_e]

Click to view

The panel on The Real (Adrienne Houghton, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai, and Tamera Mowry-Housley) discuss if kids should get a debit or credit card and when is the appropriate age to give them one. Loni feels debit cards are more appropriate while Tamera thinks 14 is a good age for a credit card with a set limit. Adrienne adds that it’s important to

Comments

[sandstorm]

What are they gonna buy @ 8 or 9, lootboxes?

I'd encourage a kid to pick out stocks before handing them a credit card. Debit, sure, I'll put your allowance in it.

Also I bought that laptop I was talking about yesterday, and got it even cheaper than sales price 😎

[shittysoup]

[sandstorm]

I use Stash and Robin Hood, but IA - but too many companies make $$$$$ off of Americans shit financial skills, so they don't.

[yeezus_christ]

stash is great. i also have t-mobile stock from being t-mobile customer, but i want to have it in my stash account.

[zoaster_toaster]

I had a credit card in college and I was so shit at it I ended college in severe credit debt. Since then I've had a debit card and that's been far more helpful because I can't spend money on it if it isn't there.

[yeezus_christ]

if you're still paying off your credit cards and are in a position to make it a priority i highly recommend doing that as early as possible then using one of your credit cards for a small monthly purchase that you can pay off in full (e.g.: a netflix subscription). it will significantly improve your credit score if it was negatively affected by your credit card debt from college.

[umbrella_smile]

^This also works if you have no credit history

I had 0 credit history for so long because I was scared of credit cards. Finally, when I got a decent job, I applied for a secured discover card(they were the only one who would even look at me with no credit) and put my small recurring charges on it. Within 6 months they sent me my security deposit back and gave me an actual credit card. I went from no credit to a 740 credit score in about a year. It's been wild. I started at a $200 limit, my limit is now $3000 and I have had the card for a year and a half.

Every time my limit is raised my usage percentage gets lower and my credit score goes higher because I still only use it for small purchases.

Sorry this is long, I am just so excited I am doing financial things on my own and responsibly lmao

[yeezus_christ]

no need to apologize--good credit is something to be excited about. you earned it, you're using it responsibly, and thinking about your future. you should be excited and proud of yourself.

[statelines]

My parents didn't have extra money laying around to pay for a credit card bill for a child lmao

I got a debit card whenever I got a job at 16 and I think that's all that's needed. What good is a credit card for a child going to do other than making them think they have unlimited access to money to get whatever they want?

[bluestoplights]

plus you need to build credit over an extended period of time. it's better just to start them out with a really low limit, teach them to pay it off quickly/completely, and to basically treat it like they would a debit card so they don't buy anything they couldn't afford with their other card. rules for just using it for gas/other necessities would probably be a good start.

that being said, that starts at like......15, not 10.

[statelines]

But what good does it do if you're paying off their credit card for them every month? A child doesn't have a job and doesn't have the means to do it themselves. If they're 17 with a job? Okay. A 13 year old who wants to just show off for their friends and pay for everything because the parents are just going to pay it each month? That teaches nothing. Especially since it's going to mess with the parents credit if they aren't paying it off for them each month.

A debit card with their allowance/gifts/whatever on it makes way more sense because once the money is gone, it's gone.

[champagnemami]

I don’t see anything wrong with teaching about the use of debit/credit cards to teenagers. You as a parent can teach them while controlling the cards so they don’t mess up.

[allmylines]

i started working at 14 and think i got my first debit card around 17? it was always my money though.

i am TERRIBLE at managing my money, just because i was never really raised with any financial literacy. my parents were bad with money and declared bankruptcy when i was a kid, and we never really had money. the cycle continues bc i (and the rest of ontd) am drowning in student loan and other debt and living paycheck to paycheck even though i went to a good college.

i'm applying for better paying jobs rn though, i think it'd be helpful in getting my finances back on track. my boss is cheap af and most of my friends make $20k (or more) more than me.

[caitiecait]

Are you me?
I’m much better at managing my money now but even when I was running at not-for-profit I still didn’t make over $30k and I have a shit ton of student loan debt so I’m going to be fucked forever.
I’ll have my masters in two weeks but i know it’s not going to help.