Navigating the Complicated World of Bankruptcy

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Live To Use Credit Again

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Dark days can seem never-ending when your finances are in trouble, but a decision to file for bankruptcy is your first step towards sunshine. Not only will you find some immediate relief, you will have one of those rare "do-overs" where you can review and makes changes for the better. Read on to learn a bit more about recovering after a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.

How did you get into such a mess?

To make changes you need to know how it happened. This is not the time to castigate yourself for bad decisions, but to do a dispassionate review of your past actions to see where everything began to go so wrong. Without a load of debt hanging over you it will be possible to make better decisions and plans. You can fix this, so consider the following:

1. If you enjoyed using your credit cards to buy things you could not otherwise afford, consider making a budget that allows a certain amount of frivolous purchases balanced with your needs.

2. If a large medical bill or an unexpected car repair added to your financial problems, make plans to put aside some of your income for emergency bills. Everyone needs a savings account to cover car repairs, house repairs, vehicle down payments, medical issues, emergency travel and more.

Become very familiar with your credit report

Not understanding or keeping up with credit likely contributed to your need to file bankruptcy, so take some time to review your report. Once your bankruptcy is final you will note the federal filing, but it's more important to focus on the other aspects of the report after a bankruptcy. The accounts you listed on your bankruptcy should not be showing up as active once it's final and you may need to contact the three main credit reporting agencies to have erroneous information removed. Check your report each month for changes and errors.

The credit offers begin to pour in: If you thought that a bankruptcy declaration would mean no more credit cards, you should be prepared for the offers that hit your mailbox after a filing. Creditors monitor the federal filings and then pounce on desperate filers with bad credit offers. Take a close look at those offers and you might see things like high-interest rates, yearly and monthly membership fees and more. You do want to rebuild your credit, but know what the small print says and consider a card where you begin by depositing funds to use similar to a credit card.

There are good days ahead, as long as you use your bankruptcy filing to make sure you never end up in a bad situation again. Speak with an attorney such as Greg Dunn Bankruptcy Attorney to learn more.


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