How to Recover from Bankruptcy
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Bankruptcy can feel like a financial black hole, sucking in your credit score and leaving you with a daunting path to recovery. You can repair your credit and rebuild your financial life with the right approach and patience.
Understand Your Current Situation
The first step in any journey is to understand where you are. Obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You're entitled to a free report from each bureau once a year through AnnualCreditReport.com. Review these reports carefully to understand the impact of the bankruptcy and to check for any errors.
Dispute Any Errors
If you find any errors on your credit reports, dispute them immediately. Incorrect information can unnecessarily drag down your credit score. Each credit bureau has a process for disputing errors, which usually involves submitting a dispute online or via mail.
Disputing Items Not Marked as "Included in Bankruptcy
After filing for bankruptcy, it's crucial to ensure that all items included in the bankruptcy are correctly reported on your credit report. These items should be marked as "included in bankruptcy" or similar wording. However, sometimes, credit bureaus fail to update this information correctly, which can negatively impact your credit score.
Get your credit report from all three major credit bureaus. Carefully review each item on the report.
Look for any debts discharged in your bankruptcy but not marked as "included in bankruptcy" These are the items you need to dispute.
Collect all relevant documents that prove these debts were included in your bankruptcy. This could include your bankruptcy discharge papers or your bankruptcy schedule that lists all the included debts.
Each credit bureau has a process for filing disputes. You can usually do this online or by mail. When filing the dispute, clearly identify each item you're disputing, explain why the item is incorrect, and provide copies of your supporting documents.
After filing the dispute, the credit bureau will investigate, which can take up to 30 days. If the bureau agrees with your dispute, they will update the item on your credit report. If they disagree, you’ll be notified as to why.
Ensuring that all items are correctly marked as "included in bankruptcy" is essential for several reasons:
1. Accuracy: First and foremost, you want your credit report to reflect your financial history accurately. Incorrect information can misrepresent your financial situation to potential lenders.
2. Credit Score: Items not correctly marked can negatively impact your credit score. Debts marked as "included in bankruptcy" don't affect your score as much as outstanding debts.
3. Future Credit: Potential lenders can see your credit report, and if they see debts that appear to be outstanding, they may be less likely to extend credit to you.
Create a Budget
Bankruptcy is often a wake-up call to reassess your financial habits. Create a realistic budget that accounts for all your income and expenses. Stick to this budget and avoid unnecessary spending. This will help you avoid falling into debt again and show potential lenders that you're responsible with money.
Pay Bills On Time
Your payment history is a significant factor in your credit score. Make sure to pay all your bills on time, every time. This includes not just credit card and loan payments but also utilities, rent, and other bills.
Consistent, on-time payments will gradually improve your credit score. You can set up Experian Boost to report your rent and utilities to the credit bureau to help supercharge your credit history.
Build New Credit
While it might seem counterintuitive, building new credit is one of the best ways to recover from bankruptcy. Apply for a secured credit card or a credit-builder loan. These products are designed for people with poor or no credit.
Pay small charges and pay them off on time to show you can handle credit responsibly. Most banks and credit unions offer secured credit cards that report to the credit bureaus. If you have someone who will co-sign a loan for you, that is another option to build more tradelines.
If you own a vehicle, you can take out a title loan against it to help you rebuild your credit. These secured loans are easier to qualify for.
Use Experian Boost: Experian Boost is a free service allowing you to add utility and other bills (cable, phone, etc.) to your credit report. This can help you build credit faster if you have no credit history or a thin credit file. Visit Experian.com to sign up.
Authorized User: Being an authorized credit card user can help build your credit in several ways. If the primary user's card has a long record of on-time payments and a high credit limit, and the authorized user doesn't have recent blemishes on their credit report, being an authorized user can help build a positive credit history.
Authorizing users can help with "credit age," a scoring factor. If you don't yet have a FICO score, becoming an authorized user can shorten the time needed to generate one to less than six months
No responsibility for payments: As an authorized user, you are not responsible for paying off the card balance.
Keep Credit Utilization Low
Credit utilization is the ratio of your credit card balances to your credit limits. It's recommended to keep this ratio below 30%. This shows lenders that you can manage credit wisely and not rely on it.
Be Patient
Recovering from bankruptcy takes time. A bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for up to 10 years, but its impact lessens over time. Stay consistent with your credit-positive behaviors, and you'll see gradual improvement.
