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A Reddit post from r/NoStupidQuestions revealed something eye-opening: many young adults don’t realize they have to pay off their credit card balances in full each month to avoid interest.
The original poster asked, “Why do so many people not know that credit cards aren’t free money?” and the comments quickly filled with stories, confessions, and hard-earned lessons.
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Ignorance Or Lack Of Exposure And Education
Hundreds of commenters shared that they had never been taught how credit cards work, and that financial literacy wasn’t part of their education at home or in school. As one person said, “My mom worked all the time and I was a latchkey kid. She never had time to teach me anything. I know to pay it in full now but I was never taught how to handle money. If I knew then even half of what I know now I would be in a much better place.”
Another said they thought credit cards worked like a car loan: pay the minimum each month and eventually it’s paid off. They don’t understand that interest piles on unless you pay in full.
Some admitted they once believed credit cards were basically free money. One wrote, “No one taught me or prepared me for it. I was racking up a bill and paying off the minimum amount and had no idea what interest was and was stuck in it for a long time.”
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Many pointed out that young adults are often offered credit cards the moment they turn 18, without understanding the consequences. “When I was in college, banks would set up a desk in the student center, usually staffed by attractive young women, and sign students up for credit cards,” one commenter shared. “They had a low minimum payment for as long as you were in school. Imagine handing a 19-year-old a piece of plastic and saying ‘Spend as much as you want and only pay $15/month.'”
Others shared that financial lessons, if taught, came too early. “At my school it was taught in 9th grade… four years before any of us even turned 18,” one person wrote.
Some Use Credit Cards The Right Way
Plenty of financially savvy users said they use credit cards for cashback or points but stressed the importance of paying off the full balance every month. “I get about $1,000 a year between my Amex and Amazon Prime cards,” one said. “But you MUST pay off your balance each month to make it work.”
Another added, “Think of it as basically a debit card that doesn’t deduct money immediately, but you instead pay for it in one big chunk each month.”
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Lack Of Self-Control And Financial Pressure Also Play A Role
Impulse spending came up frequently, not just as a result of poor education but also as a separate challenge. “If I see something I want in a store and I know I can just whip out a card and take it home there and then, it’s hard to resist,” one Redditor confessed.
Others pointed out that sometimes it’s not about irresponsibility, but necessity. “You’re in a big city and being good with your money but your partner loses her job and for a couple of months money gets ridiculously tight,” one person wrote.
While some commenters mocked the idea of anyone thinking credit cards were free money, most responses were empathetic: “Things that are obvious and common sense to an adult often aren’t actually innate behaviors, they’re learned.”
For many, it wasn’t a lack of intelligence, but a combination of being young, under financial stress, and never having someone explain how compound interest and minimum payments really work.
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