Having a credit card as a college student may seem like a good idea, until said student receives the credit card statement.

For some, it may be easier to simply have cash on hand, because when the money runs out, the temptation to spend fades away. On the other hand, with a credit card, there is a feeling of infinite money where the sensation of being able to make a purchase with just a slide of a card is nothing short of magical.

Believe it or not, the earliest a person can receive a credit card of their own is at the ripe age of 18, where the normal teenager would be able to provide a steady income instead of relying on their parents to bail them out of debt.

Siblings Frank and Tina Abraham are frequent credit card users, and they offered some insight on how beneficial a credit card really is and what age it is appropriate to get one.

Frank Abraham received his first Capital One credit card at the age of 22 and has used his credit card as a student for everything from books to meals.

“I always try to use my credit card as one of my forms of finances,” he said. “I actually transfer most of my money earned from work into my credit card and utilize that to strengthen my credit and make sure that I am maximizing on the total amount that they are giving me.”

Tina Abraham believes the perfect age to get a credit card would be at the age of 18, but teenagers should also be shown how to use this form of payment correctly by their parents.

“I believe that our parents should teach us or that we should have a class in high school learning about finances and learning about credit cards and checks and how they work, because a lot of people don’t get that from their parents so they are kind of just left to depend on them,” she said.

As a student, it may be a good idea to use a credit card only as an emergency fund to make a larger purchase or to save up for a rainy day. It is important to get educated before receiving a credit card because otherwise, there can easily be a large amount of money plus interest to be owed.