As first-time college students discover their financial freedom, many are tempted to open a credit card. They may not realize the pitfalls of charging their purchases.

Purchasing books is a necessity in college, and an expensive one at that. When you're not making much money, the choice is tough: pay in cash or pay in plastic.

Credit counselors say more students are charging more than just books, falling victim to the incentives that credit card companies offer: things like cash back bonuses and low annual percentage rates for a few months. The problem is sometimes students get carried away, charging much more than they can afford. Once that interest rate shoots up, so do the bills.

“It's a real serious situation. There's been a number of people, especially young college kids, who get $2,000 or $3,000 in debt and have actually committed suicide because of their fear that they couldn't handle that $3,000 in debt,” said Mike Cherry, president of Consumer Credit Counseling.

Credit counselors say, if you are in debt, the first thing you need to do is get rid of the credit card. Don't make any more purchases on it. Instead, work on paying it off and learn to live on the money you make.

Credit counselors can help students who are worried about getting into debt. They work with people to find out how much they earn and how much they can afford to spend. The good news is it's free.

For more information from Consumer Credit Counseling, click here.