After Bankruptcy in Los Angeles

Now that you have survived the experience of filing for bankruptcy in Los Angeles, California and completed all the requirements necessary to be awarded a discharge of your debts from the court, it's time to figure out how to live after bankruptcy.  After you quietly celebrate your discharge it’s time to move on and plan for the future.  Let’s look at all the things that are now in your grasp as a result of your Los Angeles bankruptcy.

• buy a house or car
• use credit wisely
• practice good financial decision making habits

One of the many challenges that face many people after bankruptcy is to build better credit.  Credit is simply the ability to borrow money.  Assuming you’ll need to borrow money in the future, you’ll have to convince a financial institution to loan you money.  The best thing to do is to understand how much you can afford before you go shopping.  Budget for your discretionary spending and make sure you stay within your budget.  Don’t put “impulse” buys on credit.  Pay cash for things.  Avoid using credit when you can.

Obviously, most of us in order to buy houses or cars in the future will probably need to finance our purchases.  Thus, it is important to rebuild good credit.  The first step is to timely pay anything that survived the bankruptcy, like a house or car.  You’d be surprised how quickly paying those things can improve your credit score.  Of course, your future purchases still should fit within your budget.  Post-bankruptcy celebrations aren't worth it if you end up back in the same position.

Another way of rebuilding good credit is to obtain a secured credit card, or a small personal loan that you repay in full each month.  If you have trouble finding lenders, you can try working with a credit union.  The key element to using credit wisely after a bankruptcy is to make sure you always make the payments on time and in the case of a credit card, pay off the balance in full every month.  The bottom line is that you want your bankruptcy to be a once in a lifetime event and to avoid future problems, you should use your experience and added knowledge about bankruptcy and budgeting to keep yourself and your family in the best possible financial shape.