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We are often handed a credit card when we wave good bye to our parents at the door. I remembered that when I left Malaysia as a young 20-year old student awaiting what life has in store for me at the University of Oklahoma at the other end of the world. It was my father's assurance or should I say a quick replacement of him when financial troubles come my way.

Another friend were handed yet another credit when he was in college. He made purchases and his exact quote, "I just kept swiping that thing without thinking that I'd ever need to pay the card back". On graduation day, his father handed a stack of bills and told him that he has been making the minimum payments. Now, it was time to make his payments on it. It took him many years to pay off those credit cards for the t-shirt and cap he didn't remember buying or the meal he didn't remember eating.

So many times, parents do not teach financial responsibility to our children. Hence, no wonder the children who then grow up to become adults never put two-and-two together. You swipe it, you pay for it. Credit education should be taught by parents at home as well as in school. But first, the adults that impart this knowledge must first understand it. Credit is not just handed off but must be used responsibly for those whom credit is issued.

When you swipe the card, you are essentially "borrowing" the money. And when you "borrow" something, you promise to pay it back.

For young adults, building credit is essential. In reality, not many people can afford to make cash real estate purchases. The intentions of having credit issued is to show credit "worthiness" of bigger and larger loans in the future. It is NOT for you to buy anything and everything under the sun to your heart's content.

Please use your credit wisely and use it responsibly. Pass the responsibility on to your children also, just as you pass on your morals, values and beliefs. How you and your children handle credit can affect them for the rest of their lives.

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