I’m a firm believer that college students should begin building their credit history by applying for their own credit card early on, however some students wind up deep in debt due to irresponsible buying habits. If you’re a college student who is just applying for (or recently received) a credit card, here are 2 simple tips that will help you avoid getting bogged down with credit card debt.

• Stick to your budget - As a student, the funds are low. Remember this when you get that shiny new plastic in the mail and as a general rule, if you can’t pay it off when the creditcard statement comes… don’t buy it.
• Start with a low limit - Until you become comfortable with using your new credit card and making the monthly payments, keep the limit low. There’s plenty of time to bump that limit up in the future, for the time being just learn to use the credit line that you have responsibly.