Congrats on getting out of debt.
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Originally Posted by nospam
I think that finance education needs to be taught in high school before kids go off to college and start getting credit cards. it's so easy to get trapped in the credit card cycle. glad you got out.
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Here, here! I think that simple financial education is one of the most sorely lacking aspects of high school. I was lucky (?) in that I grew up in a family without a lot of money. I learned how to get by on very little and how to manage money very well. Many of my contemporaries have minor to serious problems with debt.
The best rule to avoid debt is not to avoid the "evil" credit card, but rather to avoid the stupid pattern of thinking that you need every little thing. You don't need a new car, you don't need an Xbox/Plasma TV/etc., or to go out to dinner or the bar three times a week. Just live your life humbly and always within your means. I think that people are often caught up in the idea that they deserve to live well above the level their current income would support.