Along with student loans, car payments, rent and insurance, more and more college students are graduating with credit card debt.

“We have seen an increasing number of students coming in with debt in the last five years,” said Tom Coates, director for Consumer Credit of Des Moines.

Coates said credit card debt is the fastest-increasing form of debt, with the average student owing about $3,000.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in June that 70 percent of undergraduate students have credit card debt, with the average debt rising from $1,879 to $2,226 from 1996 to 1997.

David Douglas, junior in computer engineering, is one ISU student who has learned the hard way what unchecked credit card spending can do.

“When I first got a credit card, I was not budgeting finances at all,” he said.

“I had planned to have no balance on it, but that lasted about two months.”

Even if students use credit cards wisely most of the time, the temptation still is there and debt does happen, Douglas said.

“Most of the time, I don’t use it irresponsibly,” he said, “but there are stretches when I go crazy.”

Coates said students can have many financial strains, from eating out at restaurants to financing a car or house.

“The demands on your money are almost unlimited, and with credit cards, those demands can be met even if resources are fairly limited,” Coates said.

Debbie Fisher, senior in pre-vet zoology, uses three credit cards.

“I think you can get carried away,” she said. “It tends to not be real money.”

Credit card debt really becomes a problem for many students after they graduate, Coates said.

“The reality is that when they get out and they start getting paychecks, their income increases, but their expenses increase also,” he said.

“They find out that what they thought would be a lot of money doesn’t go very far.”

For students who already are in financial debt, Coates offered some advice for controlling and decreasing debt.

“You’ve got to draw up your financial budget, look at the money you are making and what you are buying, item by item, and see where your money is going,” he said.

“Once you see where the money is going, you can adjust that spending.”

Still, the best way to get out of financial debt is to avoid it altogether, Coates said. By following a few simple rules, students can avoid debt.

“Limit yourself to one [credit card] and no more than two,” Coates said.

“Keep a small line of credit. If the line is too large, if they’ve given you more than you think you need, get it reduced. Call and have them reduce it from $5,000 to $1,000,” he said.

“If you buy something,” he added, “pay off the debt at the end of the month.

“If you find that you’re not paying off the debt at the end of the month, put the card somewhere you won’t use it.”

Fisher advises thinking of the credit card as real money.

“When I first got it, I carried it with my checkbook and then subtracted it like a check,” she said. “Write it down as if it’s real money.”

Fisher also said there are many on-campus resources for students in credit card debt.

The ISU Financial Counseling Center gives classes on money and budgeting and counsels students approaching graduation on how to finance graduate school.