Life After Bankruptcy

After you get your bankruptcy discharge, you will receive many solicitations from lenders offering to finance homes, vehicles and credit cards.

And....why not?

Bankruptcy gets rid of debt and getting rid of debt is the first step for re-building credit. Getting rid of some debt puts you in a better position to handle more credit.

In fact...many former clients have told us they started getting credit card offers right away...within weeks after their bankruptcy case was done.

At Bankruptcy Law Firm, PLLC, you have the option of enrolling into our program entitled Life After Bankruptcy. This program is specifically tailored to assist you with rebuilding your credit and living a more financially prosperous life again.

Here are some tips on how to rebuild your credit.

• Open a checking or savings account. And, start saving some money. You will need money for down payments. The more money you can pay down on a purchase, the lower the interest rate you will get. Besides....Lenders may look how you handle a checking and savings account as one indication of whether or not you can responsibly handle money.
• Apply for store and gas credit cards that you would normally pay cash.
• Apply for a secured card where you deposit cash and charge against it. Make sure you only apply for secured cards with a company that promises to report regularly to the major credit reporting agencies. The major credit reporting agencies are Equifax (www.equifax.com) , Experian (www.experian.com) and TransUnion (www.transunion.com). They maintain your credit record. Think about it. What good does it do to get a secured card from a company that does not report to the major credit bureaus? Pay back advances in a timely fashion to build a track record of paying on time...so that they will be reflected as positive marks on your credit report.
• Pay your utility bills and rent on time. After filing bankruptcy...building up a history of paying on time is crucial.
• Find a friend or relative to cosign for you on a loan and pay it on time. But...be careful here. If you don't pay it or don't pay it on time....you will do significant damage to the credit record of the friend or relative who was kind enough to cosign for you.
• Look for car dealers and mortgage brokers that claim to be "bankruptcy friendly". Buy a used car so you do not get hit with the depreciation that occurs during the first two years of a new car purchase.
• Stay away from payday loans and finance companies that are at high interest rates and are a "bad credit" trap. These outfits will suck you dry and leave you back in debt.
• Write a letter to each credit reporting agency explaining the circumstances that lead to you filing. You are allowed to submit up to 100 words of explanation to each credit reporting agency.
• Live within your means. If you don't have the money....don't spend it. If it helps....Limit yourself to what you need...rather than....like in the old days that lead you deep into debt....when you bought everything you wanted...whether you needed it or not. And....as a rough guideline....try to make sure your payments on consumer debts don't exceed 20% of your expendable income.... after your costs for housing and a vehicle.
• Pay your remaining debts....left over from your bankruptcy....on time. This is worth repeating. This includes things like non-dischargeable taxes, student loans, car loans, truck loans, and house mortgages. This is crucial...if you want to reestablish your credit.
• Make sure the information on your credit report is accurate. The best way to do this is to get an updated copy of your credit report. After filing bankruptcy, it's probably a good idea to get an updated credit report every 6 months for a year or so. How do I get a copy of my credit report? The easiest way is to get it directly from one of the 3 major credit reporting agencies. Each of them offers a "3-in-1" credit report, which simply means a credit report containing all the information from all these of their agencies. There is also other valuable information on these websites, including: (1) information to help you understand your credit score, (2) further information on how to rebuild your credit, and (3) information on how to fix any errors that may appear on your credit report.

Most people think that filing bankruptcy will hurt their credit. That make no sense. Think about it. If your credit is already messed up, maxed out, or dead ....bankruptcy can't hurt it.

Want to know a secret? The truth is that filing bankruptcy can actually help you rebuild credit. Here's the proof:
It goes without saying that if you can't pay the debts you have, nobody in their right mind is going to give you another loan or additional credit. So, if you want to put yourself in a position to get more loans and credit in the future, you first have to put yourself in a position where you can afford to make the payments on those additional loans and additional credit. Putting yourself in a position where you can afford to make the payments on additional loans and credit makes you look more attractive to future banks and other lenders.

To do this, you have to get rid of some of the debts you already have.....in the fastest way possible. You have 2 options: You can keep paying on your debts, but with interest eating up most of your payments, this can take years and what may seem like a lifetime. Even worse, if you can't even afford to make the minimum payments on those debts, while still paying all your other monthly living expenses, it stands to reason that you will never get out of debt.
The other alternative is bankruptcy.

If you are a good, honest, hard-working person, filing bankruptcy releases you from certain types of unsecured debts. If, for instance, you have substantial amounts of credit card, medical or other types of unsecured debts, filing bankruptcy can help you get rid of a huge amount of these debts, the same debts that are keeping you from getting more credit. And, the more of these unsecured debts you have, the more debt you can get rid of, in most situations. In straight bankruptcy, under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, filing bankruptcy this means you can get rid of these unsecured debts in as little as 3 or 4 months. And, believe it or not, this is debt you will never have to pay back. You are released from this debt forever.

Lots of advertisements will promise to get you out of debt without making payments, but you know what they say. "If it's sounds too good to be true, it isn't." Most of what you hear are just scams, but NOT when it comes to bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy is the real deal.

The bankruptcy laws were created by your U.S. Congress to help good, honest, hard-working people...just like you...get out of debt, and these laws have the full weight of the U.S. Government behind them.

The bottom line is this. If getting rid of debt is what you need to do to start rebuilding your credit...... bankruptcy may be the answer for you.

Others ads promise and promise and promise.

But...only bankruptcy delivers!

So, what are you waiting for? Call Bankruptcy Law Firm, PLLC at (901)541-HELP(4357) and let's meet for your FREE CONSULATION