Black collegians are often faced with a major decision, one that often times has little to do with their field of study, which pre-approved credit card offer they accept. Overall, "Generation Xers" have 18% of the credit cards but amass 25% of such debt. Lenders are recklessly issuing cards to those who can least afford them. For black consumers credit card use is often a means of extending their monthly incomes. These individuals are burdened by interest rates that typically exceed 16%, higher fees and insurance premiums.

The end result has been African Americans having to use a larger percentage of their financial resources to pay off credit costs. This can serve as an additional hindrance to those seeking mortgage credit. According to the Federal Reserve, blacks are denied such credit more often than whites and pay higher costs for such loans when they do get them.

According to a study conducted by the public policy group Demos, blacks higher credit card balances can be due to the fact that they have lower incomes, less access to financial education and higher unemployment levels. Black annual credit card debt is almost $750 more than that of white credit card users and outpaces black incomes. And once these debts become unmanageable, African-Americans must often resort to