More college students have to use credit cards just to cover basic living expenses. Here’s what it’s costing them.

A significant majority of college students who carry credit cards say they rely on those cards to pay for basic living expenses. According to recent reporting, nearly nine in ten students who use credit cards report charging essentials such as food, housing and gasoline. Using credit cards to cover day-to-day needs can create immediate budget relief but also introduces costs when balances are carried from month to month. Credit cards typically charge interest on unpaid balances and may include late-payment or over-limit fees, which can increase the total amount students owe. For students, accruing credit-card debt may affect short-term financial flexibility and could complicate managing other education-related expenses. The pattern of turning to revolving credit for necessities underscores broader affordability pressures that some students face while enrolled in higher education. Policymakers, campus financial-aid offices and student-support organizations monitoring student well-being are likely to view these findings as an indicator of rising cost-of-living strain among the student population. The data points to a need for continued attention to how students finance basic living costs while pursuing degrees.