Rebuilding Your Credit After A Bankruptcy
Posted on: 4 January 2017
If you are feeling the heavy burden of financial hardship, then you may be considered bankruptcy as a solution. Working with a skilled bankruptcy lawyer, you can use a bankruptcy filing to help you get back on track when it comes to your finances. Unfortunately, many bankruptcy filers don't learn from their mistakes and find themselves without good credit in the years after their bankruptcy has been discharged.
Here are three things that you can do after you file for bankruptcy to rebuild positive credit.
1. Create new spending habits.
If a lack of structured spending habits caused you to get into financial trouble prior to your bankruptcy, it's essential that you take the time to create new habits once you file in order to rebuild your credit.
It can be beneficial to invest in a course that teaches basic financial principles like creating a budget and recognizing potentially dangerous credit offers. Completing this course will allow you to adopt new spending habits that will keep you out of financial trouble in the future, allowing you to enjoy a positive credit rating.
2. Carefully monitor your credit reports.
When it comes to rebuilding your credit, the information listed on your credit reports matters. Creditors will use these reports to determine if you are eligible for credit in the form of a home or auto loan, store credit, or low-interest credit card. You should get in the habit of obtaining credit reports on a regular basis to monitor for any errors.
Be sure that any debts included in your bankruptcy are not listed on your reports once your case has been discharged, and dispute any errors that you see with the credit bureaus immediately to ensure you can rebuild a positive credit rating after your bankruptcy.
3. Don't carry a balance on your accounts.
Good credit is established by making payments in-full and on-time. As you obtain a credit card after your bankruptcy, it's important that you strive to maintain a zero balance on the account to keep your new credit rating intact.
Only use your card to pay for purchases that you have the cash for, then pay your balance off at the end of each month. Maintaining a zero balance on your accounts will help you avoid a large debt-to-income ratio, which could lower your credit rating.
Finding ways to rebuild your credit after your bankruptcy is discharged doesn't have to be impossible. Take the time to invest in a financial education course, monitor your credit reports, and pay off the balance of your credit cards each month to establish good credit after your bankruptcy.
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