Bail for anyone but yourself is likely not an emergency. And if it is for yourself, maybe you should think about waiting it out because you may wish you had been jailed without bail after your parents get the bill. The definition of emergencies should be clearly understood before you swipe that card the first time.
Save your credit card for a real money emergency. Using a card to pay for Spring Break vacation is neither an emergency nor a good idea.
Credit Card Smarts, Boston College
For starters, using your parents’ card won’t help you build your own credit history so you should tell them thanks, but no thanks. There are many reasonable college student credit cards for you to start building your credit score. Secondly, if you do have an ‘emergency’ credit card system established with your parental safety net, define the ground rules before you find yourself paying your parents back at their own designated annual percentage rate. Not to mention, they will likely provide you a monthly reminder of your stupidity at no additional expense.
Things like medical expenses, tuition and fees and food when the cafeteria closes for fumigation- these are reasonable emergencies. Most of these costs are unexpected and couldn’t be helped- which should be your gold standard. An emergency expense is an unexpected cost that was not preventable and that you would have no problem explaining to your parents.
Another reason your parents should skip the emergency credit card is because of the very real damage you could unintentionally, but unforgivably do to their credit rating. Your parents’ credit report will be negatively impacted by a missed payment here or there, an accidental over limit fee or even a balance that is more than 40% of the available credit limit; all of these items are costly to a credit score.
Creating your own credit history with a solid understanding of the financial impact of your spending decisions will be a much better lesson than carrying around a spreadsheet of acceptable emergency expenses. A little fall back help is nice to have but a boyfriend without a probation officer is even better. And having a financial responsibility is the best lesson learned.
