Spike in number of supplementary credit cards for under 21s

The Straits Times-Home, 24th July 2006, Mon

Presently there are more and more teens below 21 years of age getting supplementary credit cards. I feel that it is not a wise decision for parents to give their children, especially young teenagers, supplementary credit cards as i feel that this will lead to them spending more money. With a supplementary credit card, the child can spend as much as he wants and will most likely end up overspending in the processs. Especially if the child is not disciplined and has little self control,he will tend to buy unnecessary stuff that he does not really need as spending with a card is very different from spending real money. At least with money, the user can see how fast he is using up his money and estimate when he is spending too much and stop to save some for a rainy day. However with a card, one does not know how much one is spending and one tends to keep on spending and before he knows it, he has overspent. I believe that supplementary credit cards are best tgiven to those going overseas to study as it is a convenient and easy way to get money. Also i feel that those going abroad to study really do have a real need for these cards as they would need to buy alot of stuff and necessities, and it would be difficult to bring along alot of cash. Hence i feel that the supplementary card is both good and bad in its own way, and it depends on how we use it that determines whether it is beneficial or not.