It’s not unheard of for creditors to continue to report negative account information even after your bankruptcy discharges, so it’s important to inspect your credit report regularly. It might cost you a few dollars to check every few months, but it’s money well spent—and you’re entitled to one free credit report each year. If any of your discharged debts are shown as active, send a dispute to the credit bureaus to have the account updated. Don’t ignore accounts that aren’t on your credit report, either. These could eventually be reported, especially if you fall behind on payments. Your goal is to show creditors that your financial mishaps are behind you and slowly raise your credit score over time. Some credit cards approve applicants who have a bankruptcy because they know that, by law, you can’t declare bankruptcy again for another seven years. Retail and gas cards tend to have lower qualification standards than other unsecured cards. If you’re not having any luck with traditional cards, consider a secured credit card or loan. These will require that you put down a security deposit, but the issuers will often convert you to an unsecured card after you make timely payments for at least a year. All of these loans and cards will come with more restrictions and higher interest rates than you could get with better credit. Still, they open the door for you to start rebuilding your credit. Make small purchases on the card and pay the full balance on time every month. You’ll avoid interest and start stacking up those positive marks on your credit report. Any time you’re more than 30 days late with a payment, it can show up on your credit report and stay there for seven years. Add that to the bankruptcy filing that already appears, and your case for creditworthiness becomes much harder to make.
