The Situation: Devin is 18. He spent the last two summers working and got accepted to the college of his choice. He didn't think twice about applying for loans to cover his tuition, room and board. He also didn't think he'd have to repay those loans—because he just knew that his mom would take care of everything.

What Teens Think: Devin thinks that by taking out student loans, he can go to college without any problems. He doesn't realize that the flip side of credit is debt, which will affect his future and the future of his entire household.

The Lessons You Can Teach:
• Don't treat credit as a cure-all or permanent solution to financial situations.
• Do discuss the terms of loans (or credit) with your teens so that they understand the responsibility of carrying debt.
• Teach your teen to treat debt as a temporary measure, and plan a budget to pay it back in full and on time. You might suggest that he get a job on campus to provide an income that will help pay the loan.
• Discuss the value of being debt-free. Tell him about your past experiences with debt and how long it took to get out of that debt.

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