Why? Two reasons. With tuition at exorbitant rates, students are resorting to credit cards to finance their education: 30% have charged tuition, and 92% have charged education expenses such as textbooks. Kids are also living outside their means: 40% of college students said they charged items knowing full well they couldn’t afford to pay the bill.
President Obama has called for a credit-card reform bill that will make it illegal for credit card companies to market their products to minors. It will also eliminate the tricks these companies play with their fine print.

“Americans know that they have a responsibility to live within their means and pay what they owe,” President Obama said. “But they also have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties and hidden fees that have become all too common to our credit card industry.”

We need to stop these predatory practices, end the financial illiteracy that allows consumers to fall into these traps and give young people the financial assistance they need so that a credit card isn't the lender of last resort.

This is where you come in. Students need financial help to stop them from resorting to credit-card companies and their loan-shark practices.
 

• Consider giving to your alma mater or awarding a scholarship to a child at your local high school.
  
  
• Offer to buy textbooks for someone in need, or create a paid internship program at your company so college students can earn the money they need while gaining valuable work experience.
  
  
• On the literacy side, call up your local high school or community center and ask if you can talk to teens about the importance of money management.
  
  
• Write a check, create a job, or just get up on a soapbox.
   

All these will help our young people to start their adult lives on more equal footing - and that’s an investment we'll all benefit from.