I remember my first credit card like it was just yesterday. There are so many things I did not know when I first applied for it. Just like most kids today, I filled out the application and sent it in and presto there it was in the mail. I ran out the door after activating it and shopped until it was maxed out. Then I learned a hard lesson. I learned about late fees, minimum payments, and ATM fees. Before I knew it I was in debt, and it was the worst kind of debt. This is the debt we can't get out of. I lost my job shortly after maxing out the card. I had bill collectors calling me and my references, which were my friends asking "where is your payment?" Now after 300 of these phone calls and 4 former friends later I had to find help. Had I only read the terms of the agreement I probably would have walked a little slower out the front door the day I got the card.

Here is some advise for all of you who are about to receive your first credit card. Remember the 3 rules to credit. Rule number one; credit is a privilege not a right. Rule number two; read the terms of your agreement several times before you activate the card. Make sure you understand all of the terms of the agreement. Rule number three; remember that if you go over board with your spending to refer back to rule number one. If you get behind in payments the card-issuing bank will hit your credit report. In other words game over!

I recommend that parents should first teach their kids about credit. At my house my teenage daughters both get a prepaid card. When they need money like a loan for say. I load what they need on the card. In return they have to work off the balance. If they don't then the card is taken away, and the debt has to be worked off before they get the card back. This is similar to the way real life works. The only difference is that the mark on the credit report stays.