Credit Cards Hit the Bar Scene!
A Credit Article Contributed by Christopher Yuscavage
Avoid Credit Card Debt On Campus
For a night out at the campus bar, the checklist for college students usually goes something like this: Cute outfit, cute smile, new shoes, bright, white teeth, an ID card, and a credit card. Wait, a credit card? What for? More and more often, college students are reaping the benefits of alcohol and building credit at the same time! Hey, who said that credit was no fun!
But, three Long Island Iced Teas and a couple shots of vodka later and the whole credit card at the bar thing seems a little less exciting and promising than before. And a couple of days later, when the credit card BILL comes in in all its glory, the credit card seems even less appealing!
Alcohol and good decision-making have never gone too strongly hand-in-hand with one always outweighing the other (usually the alcohol! ). Bad decisions with alcohol on any college campus can include promiscuity, fights, and other hazardous activities, but most always, bad decisions with alcohol and credit cards can lead to, well, bad credit! (Amazing how much badness alcohol gives away, isn't it? ! )
Buy That Guy A Drink (and put it on your credit card!)
The trouble with using a credit card at the bar starts when you walk into the front door! With every passing drink and every shot taken, your inhibitions get less and less likely to stop you from acting differently than normal. Buying drinks" for others may seem like a good idea. But when beers are going for $2.50 a pop and shots upwards of $3-6, the total amount for buying your buddy a few drinks could really add up! No worries though.
People increasingly are using credit cards at the bar, especially college bars, to pay off high tabs. These tabs are then transferred to the card, leaving the student to pay off a dozen shots and another dozen beers, which they may or may not remember doing!
Alternatives To Credit Cards at the Bar (They Make Lousy Dates!)
The white teeth, the big smile, the nice outfit, and the new shoes are all wonderful accomplices for a night out on the town, at the local college pub and/or club. But when it comes to paying for services and drinks at these places, veer clear of the credit card! There are a multitude of other outlets that allow people to pay off bar tabs without breaking their credit! How about a debit card?
While this can still be risky, consumers can pay for drinks using the debit card and simply deduct tabs from a central fund. Still, this may not work well if the fund runs too dry on a specific night or has too much money in it already, leaving the alcohol to run through it far too quickly!
The best alternative to credit cards at the bar is cash at the bar. Bring a set amount of cash to the bar that you are ready and willing to spend. If you choose to spend the cash on a dozen drinks and 10 rounds for your buddies, then so be it. But the cash will eventually disappear. Keep the smiles, outfits, and good attitude, but leave the credit card at home when going to the bar! It will be one less regret in the morning!
