There is a major debt epidemic that is plaguing the people of America. The creditors best new tactic is to target their marketing at the young people to get them used to spinning their wheels on the credit treadmill at a tender young age. The big credit card banks post up regularly right outside of university campuses offering young unemployed students credit cards pre-approved with credit limits of $5,000 or more for kids with no credit histories at all. All with the intent of getting students over the edge in debt so once they graduate they will be riddled with credit card debt for a very long time.

This causes an abundance of unnecessary problems for young students. One very serious problem is that kids need to take time away from studying to work more hours to pay off unnecessary credit card bills. Some situations force kids to completely drop out of school to get full time employment to pay off their bills.

For anyone who has seen the consumer debt documentary ‘Maxed Out’ you can see first hand how bad a debt situation can affect students. There were two college students whose parents were interviewed, both of whom killed themselves over their enormous debts that they owed. The harassment from lowlife collectors didn’t at all help out either. Plus many more students fall into deep depression because of the debt situation cornered into.

These credit issuers even go to the extent of hiring other college kids to solicit their credit cards within the dormitories. Some students will make up to $10 for every student who applies to get a line of credit. These are only the techniques that I have heard about, although I am quite certain there are more.

One way to counteract this epidemic would be to enlighten students in high school before college about the associated risks that come with having credit cards. There should be a must take course installed into the curriculum of high school seniors educating them on what the consequences could be if they misuse credit. The course should also teach seniors how to correctly manage their income to avoid any unnecessary credit problems in college.

Debt settlement is a great method of debt relief for the college students that have found themselves in a debt situation that they can no longer bear to handle themselves. It will help college students save money and become released from the horrors of debt within a few years, so when they graduate college they will not be burdened with a large debt amount over their shoulders.

Steve Martin is a credit card debt analyst with the US Consumer Advocate, which practices in debt settlement.

- Steve Martin