Going to the mall with no money certainly didn’t stop Skyline student Erickson Nguyen from buying whatever he wanted. That’s because he had a credit card in his hand. Clothes, shoes, games and food were all charged to his credit card. One month later, he had a huge debt to pay off.

This trend is among young adults who overuse their credit card without realizing the consequences they’ll soon face. Having good credit is an essential aspect towards a person’s well-being and financial future. Building up a good credit history takes time and patience, and can be extremely beneficial in the end. Creditors look at people’s savings and checking accounts as evidence on whether or not a person is able to handle money. Having good credit also proves and shows that young people are responsible adults and can be trusted.

According to Don Ravey, a retired business professor from Skyline College, getting in the habit of saving will definitely build up credit. The primary way of establishing a good credit record is by borrowing money and repaying it in accordance with the loan agreement. A common way to do this is to obtain a credit card, use it in moderation and repay promptly without ever allowing it to become overdue. To do this requires personal discipline.

“To me the most important thing (to build credit) is to match credit with purchase,” economics Professor Masao Suzuki said in an e-mail. “What this means is that you should not borrow to buy goods that will be used right away. Credit should be used for long-term purchases that is difficult to save such as cars or houses.”

According to Suzuki, high debt levels have caused personal bankruptcies to record levels with more than a million and a half people declaring bankruptcy each year. Bankruptcy can ruin a person’s credit for years and now employers are looking at job applicant’s credit records, so bad credit could hurt a person employment prospect as well.

Having bad credit can also damage a person’s image and future. You can never get a loan when you need it because nobody trusts that you’ll repay them back.

“A person with a poor credit rating or history will find it difficult to borrow money when they need to buy a house or car for example,” Ravey said in an e-mail. “Times have changed and it is quite difficult to manage your money responsibly when most of your peers seem to be enjoying all sorts of belongings.”

According to Ravey, the clever and appealing advertisements society displays through TV and billboards encourages young people to “buy now and pay later.”

“I’m currently trying to pay off my (credit card) debt because I overspent during the last couple of months,” Skyline student Eric Ung said. “Hopefully I’ll learn from this experience and try not to let it happen again.”

When asked if schools and colleges should make it mandatory for students to take a course on financial management, Ravey said, “My first instinct is to support such a requirement because a person’s future success is closely related to their ability to manage their own finances well, and clearly a large portion of today’s students lack that skill”.