Recovering from bankruptcy will happen sooner and easier than you think. The key is to re-establish your credit on all fronts. For instance, you’ll want to build your credit score back up so that you can apply for a car loan, a home loan, or attract a lender for a personal loan. The best place to start to rebuild your credit may be in applying for a secured credit card.
Understanding Issuer Policies
The first thing you’ll find when applying for credit cards is credit policies vary from lender to lender. Some companies will have stiff policies, while others are more than willing to give you a card to help you re-establish your credit. As you shop around for the right credit card, make sure you understand every company’s policies and what you’re locking yourself into.
Interest Rates
No post-bankruptcy discussion is complete without addressing credit card interest rates. There’s a likely chance your credit card interest rate will be high. You can prepare yourself for these rates by having a plan to keep your purchases low and pay off your balance every month. The more consistent you are with keeping the balance low and paying off the card every month, the faster you’ll build credit, thus get a high credit limit on your card with a lower interest rate.
Secured Credit Cards
Rather than start your credit card journey in the red, you might want to go with a secured credit card to establish your credit and boost your score. If you have a little extra cash after your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, then apply for a card and deposit some ‘good faith’ cash into the card. Some companies will give you credit based on how much money you can put toward the card up front. If you continue to feed cash into the card month after month, it won’t take long before the company is offering you a higher credit limit with low-interest rates.
Let Me Help You With Your Bankruptcy
I can help you file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Whether you are a business owner or an individual, I can walk you through the process and help you protect your assets as much as possible. Call me today at 651-454-0007 for a free consultation. I’ll be sure to provide sound bankruptcy legal counseling for clients throughout the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.