Credit Cards:

Banks spend a lot of money these days promoting their credit cards to young people.

What's the most important thing parents should tell their kids about credit cards?

It should be the fact that a credit card allows them to spend money they don't have.

That money belongs to the bank that issues the credit card and the deal is that if they do not repay the card promptly, the bank will charge them interest that can go as high as 25% or more.

When they issue a credit card, the bank is not doing anyone a favour. They're in the business of making money by issuing credit. What they are hoping to do is suck in the credit card holder to buy more than they can pay back, thus getting in deeper and deeper until they have to pay interest not only on the money they borrowed, but also on the interest they failed to pay back.

Credit cards are dangerous in the hands of kids or young adults because when they want something, they have to have it NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week. They can't wait until they have put away enough money to pay for whatever they just can't do without.

It is up to individual parents to figure out how to deliver this message to their offspring, but this should be a priority.

Also, is it being taught in schools? If our progressive teachers' unions think sex indoctrination is important in this rapidly-changing society, they should not ignore the importance of smart money handling.

And that should include being made aware of how not to get sucked in by the easy credit being promoted by the financial institutions.

That business of what's your score? is clearly aimed at kids with cell phones.