Steps to Rebuild Credit After Bankruptcy |

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Due to the unstable economy and weak job market, many people who have been hurt financially by this environment have chosen filing for bankruptcy as their way of finding a quick and easy solution. The Northeast area of the U.S. has been especially affected, with the number of NJ bankruptcy chapter 7 filings the highest it has been in years. However, taking this route will greatly damage their credit scores for many years to come. The best thing that these individuals can do is to get past the stigma of bankruptcy, and go to work on improving their credit ratings. They can accomplish this by taking specific actions like keeping track of their credit history, opening accounts with new credit and lending institutions, and ensuring that all their monthly bills and obligations are paid when they are supposed to.

Tracking Credit History

People who are familiar with their credit history generally tend to have better credit scores than those individuals who haven?t seen their credit report in quite some time. The first step in rebuilding a poor credit score is knowing exactly what is on the credit report. Since there are three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) that have differing data, credit reports should be requested from each. Individuals should make sure that all the lines of credit and debt actually belong to them. They should also look for open lines of credit that should be closed, and other mistakes that are commonly found in credit reports. The credit agencies have a month to respond to any errors and inaccuracies that creditors report to them.

Opening New Credit Accounts

One of the most effective ways that people looking to regain credit is by proving to the credit agencies that they can be responsible with repaying again. Opening new lines of credit and credit cards, and then faithfully paying those bills each month, will start the process of raising credit scores. Those with difficulty getting approved for traditional, unsecured credit cards may decide on getting a secured credit card instead. These require some funds to be set aside like a security deposit and may have higher interest rates. However, in the long term road to rebuilding credit after a bankruptcy, this will make financial-sense to many people in this situation.

Monthly Bills Paid On Time

It?s not just about credit cards. The consistent payment of all a person?s monthly obligations can critically affect his credit score. Although all monthly bills are taken into consideration, certain ones hold more weight than other. Special emphasis is placed on long-term debt repayment like those on houses and cars. People wanting to raise their credit scores after bankruptcy need to make sure that not only are these bills paid on time, but also the lesser bills like gas, electricity, cable, phone, and internet. Every active monthly bill that is paid by its due date can help with credit ratings.

Getting Financial Life Stable Again

To get to the point of filing bankruptcy, people had to make years of poor decisions. Just as it took a while to get to bankruptcy, it is going to take some time to recover from it. Thankfully, individuals can come back from this setback and slowly, but steadily, rebuild their credit ratings by constantly checking and ensuring that their credit reports are up-to-date and accurate, getting new credit cards and lines of credit, and by being diligent in paying every monthly bill before it is due.

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Derek is an active blogger. This article is for nj bankruptcy chapter 7.

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Source: http://www.howimportantisyourfinance.com/2012/09/26/steps-to-rebuild-credit-after-bankruptcy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=steps-to-rebuild-credit-after-bankruptcy

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