YOU CAN STILL ENJOY CREDIT AFTER BANKRUPTCY

When you file bankruptcy, one of the major worries you might have is what will happen to your ability to get credit and borrowing privileges afterward. You might be afraid that it will be years and years before you ever get another credit offer again, but this is simply not the case.

There are a few important things to keep in mind concerning credit after bankruptcy. First of all, remember when you are filing bankrupsy that you are obligated to list every single one of your debts. This means that if you have a credit card you are using at the time of your filing, it cannot be kept as an open account. Failure to list these existing credit card accounts is a serious federal crime. But you might not realize that many credit card companies will allow you to keep your card after bankruptcy filing through a renegotiation of the terms of use. This means that the old account is still accounted for in the bankruptcy filing while a new account is opened with new terms. This is often referred to as "reaffirming" the credit account. This leads to a new agreement that is signed after the completion of bankruptcy filing. While it may seem surprising, the fact is that most creditors would rather keep you as a customer under new agreement terms than let you go completely.

If it is not possible to reaffirm your accounts, there are still many options available to you so you can get new credit cards and lines of credit from reputable lenders who specialize in helping people in difficult economic situations. Shop around for different offers and see which terms seem best for your needs- don't be afraid to call the lenders directly and see what they can do for you.

While you might decide that the last thing you ever want is a new credit card after your banruptcy, it's best to see that having credit is a fact of life that determines much of what you can do. Plus, after the emotional strain of bankruptcy settles a bit, you will be able to set your sites on the advantages you can enjoy once you begin rebuilding credit after bankruptcy.