Nearly 2 Of 3 Millennials Don’t Have Credit Cards

Millennials — those Americans currently between 18 and 29 years of age — never really lived in a world without debit cards, when the only way to make a non-cash purchase was to use a credit card or hope the store accepted personal checks. So it may come as little surprise to some that nearly two-thirds of the consumers in this age group don’t have a single credit card to their names.

This is according to a new survey from Bankrate.com (Note: Auto-play video at link), which found that 63% of millennials have no credit cards, and only 23% of them have one card.

Meanwhile, 65% of Americans over the age of 30 have at least one credit card.

There are a few possible contributors to this difference between the two age groups. One is that many millennials are already saddled with debt from student loans. So either they choose to stay away from credit cards in order to remove the temptation to tally up more debt, or they lack the credit to qualify for a card account.

Additionally, millennials came of age during the housing crash. They saw the devastating effects of overextending yourself financially.

Then there are the recent credit card reforms, which have effectively put an end to much of the on-campus credit card marketing that had been an established way for card issuers to rope in young consumers who didn’t realize the money mess they could be stepping into when they filled out that form at orientation.

While it’s a good thing that not as many consumers are jumping on to the credit card wagon the day after their 18th birthdays, those who wait too long to build up a credit history may be doing themselves a disservice.

Having a credit card and using it responsibly — i.e., paying the balance in full and on time — is one of the easiest ways to establish a credit history for when it comes time for the big loans, like your first mortgage.

Conversely, being irresponsible with your credit card is a way to quickly damage your creditworthiness, digging yourself into a deep debt hole with a tiny plastic shovel.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist