|
4 Rebounding Tips After Bankruptcy
TIP #3: Adopt a Positive Attitude and Show What You have Learned
Experts on bankruptcy insist that attitude and persistence can make a difference on your life after filing for a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
"The consumer who’s going to recover faster is the consumer who jumps back in," says Ulzheimer.
"Financial capacity is one thing," says Tahira K. Hira, a professor at Iowa State University who specializes in consumer economics and family finance. "Mental or attitudinal capacity is the other thing."
So being positive can make a whole world of difference. "…If you build a savings account, carry no debts and have an emergency fund, you’re saying, ‘Look, I can control my behavior," Hira adds. "It depends on how good a salesperson you are and how good your behavior has been."
And, of course, by behavior, she means your financial behavior or how you carry yourself around expenses and financial obligations.
"Pay your bills on time" is the name of the game. It is also incidentally the easiest way to show to your lenders that you have learned from your past financial mistake and are making every effort never to fall into that trap again. In short, you’ve got to be a model citizen in terms of financial management.
Can you handle it? Of course, you can! And the only rule to follow is this: Shop for lenders.
"There will be a price attached," warns Hira, "which is higher interest."
This gives you all the more reason to be discriminating when choosing lenders. Don’t just jump at the first credit opportunity thrown your way only to find that the interests are punishing. Don’t get hard-balled into paying for high interest rates when you can get virtually the same loan for lower interest. Compare lenders. You are the consumer and you still have the advantage of choice.
TIP#4: Get a Credit Card.
"The best way (to establish good credit) is to get a credit card," says Mark Oleson, director of the University of Missouri Office for Financial Success. "It’s ironic because the best way to help yourself is also the best way to damage yourself."
You generally have two options. You get either a secured card or an unsecured one. Here’s how the two are different:
Secured Card
Because they lose nothing by this, credit card companies are very open to secured cards. However, personal finance experts are divided on whether or not these cards are helpful to consumers looking to re-establish credit. Basically, a secured card works by depositing money with the bank in exchange for a charge card. The limit of this charge card will depend on the amount that you have deposited (it’s usually for the same amount). Thus, when you close the account, you get your deposit back.
The good thing about secured cards, though, is that some of them do not report to the credit bureaus that the card is in fact a secured one. For all the credit bureau knows, you have a credit card and you’ve been using it for some time. It will show on your credit report as a regular credit line without anything explaining it as a secured card.
However, that is not always the case. So a common sense advice would be that if all you get is a secured card, be sure to get the best rates and the least fees. Before you sign, be sure to read all the fine print. And finally, use the secured card sparingly. Give it only six months to a year. And afterwards, try to negotiate with the company for an unsecured card.
Unsecured Card
Even after you have declared bankruptcy, you may still be able to get a card. It all depends on lender discretion. Some lenders and banks may even consider you a good risk because you do not have any debts on you. What’s more, with bankruptcy, there is a certain time period where you cannot file for another bankruptcy. Lenders may take it into good account that you may not be able to file for bankruptcy for a several years.
However, note that there is a very likely chance that you are going to pay for this privilege. Again, the standing advice is: shop around and always, always read the fine print before signing anything. | 
