chases. Credit card usage on college campuses has increased. Charging has become a way of life to students, making Generation X=s most defining characteristic debt. With education costs as high as they are most students are required to get student loans. They then seem to have no qualms about using credit to pay for comfort or even luxury. Living within one=s means seems as distant as the Great Depression.Between 1990 and 1995 the average outstanding credit card balance of households headed by someone under 25 grew from $885 to $1,721. Carrying plastic is the norm for young people. 65% of college students have cards and they are more prone than those in other age groups to get in over their heads (Shenk 1997).Fees for school have increased by more than half. Congress has reacted to this by expanding the student loan program, while scrimping on the no-strings-attached grants. Students have had to take over more of the debt as their parents have been bearing less of the burden. Part of this is because the parents themselves are in trouble, financially. Many students begin their descent in their freshman year, when the new found freedom begins. The lure of technology, the convenience of eating out instead of cooking and partying can cost more than many students have. What pays for this? Plastic. Generation X is not alone. The boomers, who spend and borrow at a great rate, are becoming increasingly unable to pay the bills. Card companies, such as Advanta, are feeling the loss. The number of card holders jumped from 2 million to 6 million in five years, with offers of large credit lines and teaser rates as low as 5.9%. The company announced a $20 million loss in the first quarter of 1997. Credit card delinquencies rose to a record in first quarter 1997 with 3.72% of borrowers falling behind in payments. Many are seeking relief in bankruptcy (Time 1997). Debtors who filed for bankruptcy increased in a 12 month period ending March 31, 1997 by...
