> I have no idea why the first time people encounter personal finance is either a college course or when they realize they have bills to pay as an adult
Oh, it's not a college course. It's the rep from the credit card company with a booth at college orientation giving out free t-shirts if you sign up for a card, one that has a $90 annual fee, a 25% interest rate, and a couple dozen other gotchas.
Well, until the Credit Card Act of 2009. Now you have to be 21 to get a credit card unless you can demonstrate significant means to pay it off or have a cosigner. I managed to sneak through the last year before this went into effect, but considering all the issues my friends have just with their student loans, I'm sure it's saved people a lot of misery, even if the nanny-state aspect of it still rankles me a little...
It's pushed the limit out 3 years, but I wonder if it's really changed anything? They're 3 years older, but are they 3 years wiser? Wisdom tends to come from experience, and since they don't have any experience with credit cards... Well, I doubt they're wiser about them.
At least they're closer to having the means to pay it off. At 21 (as a college senior) you might have a part-time job, you might have an internship, or you might be full-time somewhere. As a college freshman or incoming freshman, chances are you won't have that income. As a senior, theoretically you should be done burying yourself in debt, and beginning to have the means to pay it off.
Oh, it's not a college course. It's the rep from the credit card company with a booth at college orientation giving out free t-shirts if you sign up for a card, one that has a $90 annual fee, a 25% interest rate, and a couple dozen other gotchas.