It's one common thing shared between students, faculty and staff.
"Credit cards should be used, not abused," said William Buzzelle, a counselor with American Family Credit Counseling, a local nonprofit organization.
Last year the AFCC counseled approximately 55 staff and faculty members, and advised them on debt problems free of charge.
Barbara DiAdamo, who works in the division of undergraduate academic services, said she isn't in a position to need credit counseling, but for those who do, it is a great program.
"The problem of being in debt isn't just an ASU problem, it's an American problem," DiAdamo said. "We've been taught that in order to be happy, we need to be consumers."
In addition to staff and faculty credit card usage, a study done by Nellie Mae, a top originator of post-secondary education loans, showed that there are 54 percent of freshman and 92 percent of sophomores who own at least one credit card.
Buzzelle said it's important for people to understand the pros and cons of credit cards.
"There should really be a class in high schools in understanding credit cards," he said. "Most people don't use trig in their everyday lives, but they will use credit cards after high school."
Credit cards are necessary to building a good credit rating, which is essential to a person's independence, he added.
"If you want to buy a house after graduation or buy your own car and get out from under your parents, you need to have established credit," Buzzelle said.
Warren Kawash, a mechanical engineering sophmore, said he has four credit cards that he's maxed out on major expenses, such as car repairs.
"One of them I maxed out for books for my classes because I hadn't received my loan check," Kawash said.
He plans to use money from the loan to pay on that credit card and isn't worried about keeping high balances, he said.
Buzzelle though, said Kawash's actions could be dangerous.
"Most people don't realize that they are borrowing money at an extremely high interest rate," Buzzelle said. "People come in [to AFCC] and tell me a lot that they didn't understand how hard it would be to pay off a credit card with a 21 percent interest rate."
Paying the minimum payment on a $1,000 balance with the average interest rate of 20 percent would take 16 years to pay off. The final amount paid to the company would then be $4,500, not including penalties, such as late fees.
Buzzelle said that paying more than just the minimum can help get rid of debt much sooner. If $8 were added to a minimum payment on a $1000 balance, it will be paid off in 7 years.
He said credit card debt can control a person financially if they are tied to a large minimum payment each month.
"High balances cut down on your freedom and what you can do."
Reach the reporter at susan.padilla@asu.edu.
