The Credit Card Debt of Emerging Adults

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Credit Card from Flickr via Wylio

© 2015 GotCredit, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

When I was going through college, there would be a salesperson outside our cafeteria everyday trying to get us to register for a credit card.  In return for signing our name, we would receive a free t-shirt, a 2-liter of soda (usually Mountain Dew), or a $10 gift card for pizza.  Preying upon the innocent, their tactics were shady, and their persistence was relentless.

The Credit Card Act of 2009 eliminated excessive marketing of credit cards to young people. It prohibits companies from wooing students with T-shirts, free pizza and other free gifts at university-sponsored events.  This legislative act also requires those under the age of 21 to prove they have an independent income before applying for a credit card.

In spite of these safety provisions, emerging adults are racking up more debt than ever before.  Here are a few statistics:

  • The average credit card debt of college student is $3,173.
  • The average credit card debt of graduating students is $4,100.

Please Note:  These numbers only reflect their amount of credit card debt.  We haven’t even mentioned the average amount of educational debt which is more than 35k.  (Source)  Overwhelmed by this burden, many college students do not even know their current student loan balance.   (Source)

As someone who cares about emerging adults, it is time to begin discussing…

  • how to improve money-management skills of emerging adults.
  • how churches are consumers and contribute to this culture.
  • how living independently by means of debt is not independence, but the entryway to bondage.
  • how to battle consumerism in our lives.
  • how we can effectively teach Jesus’ teaching about money.

In our discussions, we must acknowledge that debt is not a problem of emerging adults, but is an epidemic that affects Christians of all ages.

Maybe the whole problem is that emerging adults have learned from watching us, and our inability to respond to consumerism.

Leave a comment below to express your thoughts or leave a link to a resources on finances.

Financial Resources:

profil pictureDr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources, a non-profit designed to equip parents and churches to minister to emerging adults.

College Students and Credit Cards – Some Statistics

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This article attempts to give an overview of student credit card use by presenting some statistics taken from Sallie Mae’s National Study of Usage Rates and Trends of Undergraduate Student Credit Card Use released in April 2009.   

Click Here to Read the Full Article!

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Wooing Millennials with Tradition, and not Pyrotechnics

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© 2013 Idibri, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

As a clergyperson and an older millennial of the Oregon Trail variety, I’ve followed the ongoing debates about millennials and the Church with both interest and, at times, frustration. There’s an endless number of articles and blog posts out there addressing the “problem” of millennials… Continue reading →

Making Work Meaningful: 3 Steps from Psychology and Theology to Kickstart Meaning in Your Work

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Men at Work from Flickr via Wylio

© 2014 swong95765, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

Several years ago I became good friends with a guy who remodeled houses. He worked a lot of small jobs, often bathroom makeovers, and he was passionate about what he did. He never cut corners, and he often added “extras” even when they would likely go unnoticed. He was a devout Christian who took pride in running an ethically grounded business, and he looked for opportunities to talk about his faith with his customers. Beyond all that, he made a point of donating usable lumber, fixtures, and furniture that he removed in various projects to people or organizations who needed those things. This was extra work, but he figured it was a way to help those without many resources, while also reducing the waste that would end up in a landfill.

Here is the full article.

Bryan Dik is associate professor of counseling psychology at Colorado State University and is co-founder and is Chief Science Officer for jobZology. He is co-author of Make Your Job a Calling: How the Psychology of Vocation Can Change Your Life at Work. Read his other post on the psychology and theology of vocation here and here.

Are Millennials Really Leaving the Church? Yes — but Mostly White Millennials

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Almost everyday, it seems, there’s a new story about how “Millennials are leaving the church.” But there’s a problem with these trend pieces: They aren’t true. American Christianity still has plenty of Millennials — they’re just not necessarily in white churches. Continue reading →

New Conference – Parenting Towards Adulthood

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This week, I am presenting a conference for parents and adolescents on Autonomy this Saturday, November 7 at Christian Life Academy in Farmington, Minnesota.

This workshop is completely free, but to help us prepare we are requesting that you please RSVP to Miss Heather Meyen, 651-463-4545 or hmeyen@christianlifeschool.org if you plan to attend.  This unique workshop is designed for parents of 7th-12th graders and their students to attend together!


Who’s the Boss?: Directions to Adulthood

Autonomy is an essential developmental step towards becoming an adult.  This seminar is designed to increase communication and improve your relationship with your child as you together explore the Biblical definition of autonomy.  We will begin by exploring what autonomy means, and then give you and your child opportunities to evaluate their journey towards adulthood.  The morning will include several conversation breaks for you and your child (discussion questions provided) that will cause you to think, listen, laugh, and grow.

David Boyd 1 (1)If you are interested in hosting a conference or workshop with Dr. Boyd, you can reach him at gdavid@earesources.org.

You (Almost) Lost Me: Why This Young Christian Is Somehow Not Leaving Church…And Rethinking Faith

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What pains me is the defensive reactions of (typically older) generations that have said: “What are we going to do about those darn millennials?” That have talked at us more than talked with us.

 

Here is a link to the author’s blog.

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Why teens are leaving Facebook: “It’s Meaningless”

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I found this article on the Washington Post, and I wanted to share some highlights with my readers.  Here is the full article.Teen Social Media Use

Here are some of my favorite lines from the article, and my response.

  • Teens are leaving Facebook in droves for new friends like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter — at an estimated rate of up to a million a year.  This is not new news, but the decline started almost three years ago.  Seeing the decline, Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for less than $1 Billion.  
  • With widespread parental supervision on the service, many teenagers prefer the anonymity of Whisper, the iPhone era’s version of PostSecret.  Unfortunately, many teens and adults believe that social media is temporary and private.  However, anyone can instantly take a screen shot and turn that pic or joke that you thought would go away into a permanent regret.  
  • “I feel like friend is becoming very vague,” he argued. “It’s like the word love… You say love to a lot of people and things you don’t actually love. It’s more of a compliment now. I know you and I’ll talk to you. It’s like saying, ‘We can converse.’ It’s kind of like being polite.”  This young man explains how social media has changed the concept of friendship in our world.  The word friend has been water-downed to include more people, yet less intimacy.  
  • For Eric, adapting to a new type of social media is like learning a new language — a feat studies have shown is easier for young people than it is adults.  While I completely agree with Eric, I think that those who believe that adults will not follow their children are underestimating the power of parental curiosity.  
  • Cnet’s Jennifer Van Grove adds that apps like Snapchat are the “opposite of Facebook: simple, seemingly secret, and fun.” Van Grove writes, “Around schools, kids treat these apps like pot, enjoyed in low-lit corners, and all for the undeniable pleasure and temporary fulfillment of feeling cool.”  I believe that the future of social media will promote social exclusivity and practicality uses.

Dr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources.

Why Aren’t Black Millennials Leaving the Church?

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© 2008 Raphaël Labbé, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

It is important in our research about Millennials to not make generalizations about the generation because broad stereotypes rarely hold up.  Millennials are extremely diverse.  Here is an article about one subset of Millennials who are not exiting the church, but continue to remain.

If you keep up with Christian news and blogs at all you know there has been a lot of talk about why Millennials are leaving the church.

It is a hot topic for Christian books and speakers, and for good reason. People are trying to understand why Millennials are leaving, if we can get them back and if the problem is with the generation or with the message or presentation of the Church. Continue reading →