As a nonprofit organization, DebtWave Credit Counseling, Inc. is dedicated to educating its community on credit, debt, and other finance-related issues. With the growing number of bankruptcies and the average amount of debt per household continually increasing, our role is to teach the community how to get a better grasp of their financial situation. Specifically, DebtWave is concentrating on educating the future of America – our kids.
We have recognized the fact that most financial troubles begin shortly after high school. But we are seeing this at the high school level now as well. "It is becoming more apparent that we must start teaching children about credit and personal finances at an earlier age. By the time they get to the college level, they already have attitudes and habits that are difficult to change," say’s Norma A. Mendoza, assistant professor of marketing and logistics in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. "We know that college students are being targeted by credit card companies. If students are responding differently from other populations, then we may need to be giving them different information about the problems associated with credit card debt or approaching the subject in different ways."
According to a study done by Sallie Mae’s, How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards, college seniors with at least one credit card graduated with an average of $4,138 in card debt, up 44% from 2004. By comparison, freshmen's average credit card debt jumped 27% to $2,038. And nearly 10% of them owe more than $7,000. With this knowledge, our goal with this program is not to just stop the bleeding, but to prevent it from ever happening.
“Wave of the Future is a program that was developed to teach students about debt and credit using real life situations,” comments Chase Peckham, Director of Community Outreach. “Our schools do a terrific job teaching our youth the core subjects of math, English, science, etc. but I believe it is equally important to give them the information and understanding of the significance of credit cards, budgeting and debt that they will need in the very near future.”
Other vital statistics about young people in debt:
- The American Bankruptcy Institute reveals that 19% of the people who filed for bankruptcy last year were college students. (Source: daveramsey.com)
- College seniors graduated with an average credit card debt of more than $4,100, up from $2,900 almost four years ago. Close to one-fifth of seniors carried balances greater than $7,000. (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)
- More than 84% of college students have at least one credit card (2009). (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)
- Over 80% of graduating college seniors has credit card debt before they even have a job! (Source: daveramsey.com)
- Sixty percent experienced surprise at how high their balance had reached, and 40 percent said they have charged items knowing they did not have the money to pay the bill. (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)
- Only 17 percent said they regularly paid off all cards each month, and another 1 percent had parents, a spouse, or other family members paying the bill. The remaining 82 percent carried balances and thus incurred finance charges each month. (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)
To find out more about this program or to schedule a visit, contact us via email at
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or call (888) 686-4040.
