10 Ways to Rebuild Your Credit Score after Bankruptcy

Have you filed for bankruptcy and wondering how you can rebuild your credit score? Are you discharged from bankruptcy? This is important because you need the discharge documents in many ways, such as when seeking employment, applying for credit, or renting a new home.

Bankruptcy has a negative impact on your credit; however, this damage is not permanent or irreparable because it will only remain on your credit for 10 years.

Also, the impact reduces with time as you take practical steps to improve your credit score. Thus with little patience and discipline, you can repair your credit history.

The following are 10 proactive ways you can take to rebuild your credit score after bankruptcy.

Ensure Your Credit Report Has Zero Balance

You must ensure your credit report is accurate. That means any account that was discharged through bankruptcy should have a zero balance.

Creditors can continue to report negative account information even after they were discharged through bankruptcy.

Thus, you need to regularly inspect your credit report to identify any active debt that was discharged and ensure the account is up to date. You can monitor it regularly for the first few years, and although it will cost you a few dollars, it’s worth it.

Make Payment for Reaffirmed Debts Promptly

If you have some debts left out of bankruptcy, you can use them to improve your score by making payments on time.

Payment history will help you rebuild your credit score, and you can achieve this by respecting their due time.

Therefore work hard to repay your student loan and credit cards on time so that you can supply your credit report with good credit usage information, thus increase your credit scores. This is the evidence creditors look for as the bankruptcy ages.

Get a Secured Credit Card

Get new credit in the event that you don’t have a credit card or any other active loan. You can get a secured credit card even with low credit scores or bankruptcy notation.

Use your cash deposit to apply for secured credit cards of a similar limit. The money will be released and turn it into an unsecured card after making a given number of on-time payments.

Others may upgrade it to an unsecured card when you use it responsibly and enroll you in some rewards program where you earn as you charge.

Apply for Unsecured Credit Card and Pay Promptly

Shop around for bankruptcy-friendly unsecured credit cards. Of course, this card has low limits, has an annual fee, and is not linked to any reward programs.

Therefore instead of waiting for 10 years to lapse, you should look for ways to rebuild your credit score in few years. Get a low-limit gas company or department store card since you can easily qualify for that, use them carefully, and with time you can upgrade to a general-purpose account. Always take note of your credit utilization because it’s the second most important factor in credit scoring.

Use Autopay for Your Fixed Bills

This is the best method to stay out of debt and feed your credit report with a continuous stream of positive data. So, charge a fixed bill to your card and atomically debit the sum from your checking account to your card.

This helps you pay your fixed bills on time and leaves you with a single task of monitoring your account balance and credit card statement.

Maintain a Low Credit Card Balance

Keeping your credit card balances as low as 30% or less of your limit is proof that you’re responsible and managing your credit well.

Maintaining it at 10% or less is even better because you are trying to re-establish your credit.

Involve a Co-Signer

Do you want to finance a new laptop or a car? That calls for a larger loan, but you can’t qualify with your present situation. So, you can ask a family member or friend with impressive credit scores and willing to serve as your co-signer.

Taking a credit builder loan that lasts many years can lengthen your credit history and help rebuild your credit score quickly. However, you must maintain a flawless payment record for yourself and your co-signer’s benefit.

Piggybacking on Another Person’s Account

Getting a cosigner after bankruptcy can be a daunting task because your family and friends may view that as a risky venture. But becoming an authorized user on a credit card is a lesser risk. Thus the family member or friend can add you to their credit card account as an authorized user.

This is an excellent way of rebuilding your credit score after bankruptcy because this will appear on your credit report and be included in your credit scores. Your credit score will increase quickly when the card owner maintains it in good condition by keeping their debt low and paying on time.

Use Utility Bill Data

Using alternative data such as cellphone and utility payments is a more effortless way to re-establish your credit scores.

Thus enroll with the credit bureau and add alternative data to your credit profile. However, you must pay these bills on time. People with thin profiles or low credit scores can enroll in this program to help them rise from bad to fair credit.

Save for Emergencies

Have some savings because an unexpected expense, no matter how small, can throw you off balance and force you to either skip payment or take on new debt.

You don’t need to have tons of money in your emergency savings fund, but you can start small and work towards building your reserve. You can do this by automatically deducting some money from your paycheck into your emergency fund.

Takeaway

The article has told you about 10 ways of rebuilding your credit score after bankruptcy. However, don’t be in a rush to increase your credit score in a short period because you will end up making bigger mistakes that will hurt your credit repair progress. Quick fixes will cause you more problems.

Instead, take one step at a time and charge what you can afford. Bankruptcy will remain in your credit history for 10 years, but you can carefully regain your good credit score after a few years if you plan well.

Thus avoid a lot of new credit or loans because it’s a sign that you’re desperate. Rather, focus on paying your reaffirmed debt and work with low-limit credit cards.