Your 17 to 21-year old has banks, car dealers and especially credit card companies salivating to meet them.
Those companies will do whatever it takes to get their business. Banks, and especially credit card companies, have THE best marketing minds in the country and want your teenager in debt to them – really soon and really deep.
We have a huge emotional attachment to our first credit card. It’s the reason they’ll do whatever it takes to be front and centre in your teenager’s wallet. Once they’re first, they own you and the memories and loyalties are way bigger than a teenager’s first boyfriend or girlfriend – and last a lot longer. On average, we keep our first credit card for over 15 years. It doesn’t matter the rate hasn’t been competitive for years, that the perks are junk or the fees they add on.
It’s not even important that they’re students and don’t have much of an income. For this group, the default rates are below average because, in most cases, parents will step in and pay the balance, or at least make the payments.
Why you? Because they can’t market much to your parents. Adults already have all the credit cards they need or want. So they can’t grow their business unless they get to you. It’s millions of fresh customers and bonus: You don’t know squat about credit and the dangers of credit cards, but you do love to impulse buy.
The same applies to banks wanting to get you hooked on an overdraft or line of credit once you have some income. That overdraft will be there for decades and it’s not like you know how to shop around for the best loan deal or rate.
Car dealers also can’t wait to meet you. How many cars are you going to buy in a lifetime? Three? Four? Five, maybe? Well, the average salesman sells maybe a hundred each year. So who do you think knows stuff and totally has the upper hand? It’s like bringing a plastic knife to a gun fight – you’re gonna lose, even if you bring one of your parents or a buddy.
So you’re all set. You’ve got your student loan payments for two decades, you got the credit card, an overdraft and that car payment. Grade five math says that most of your income is now going to pay all that. So someone telling you save some money is just a pipedream.