I first filed for Chapter 7 and then Chapter 13, how can I rebuild my credit?

Question

My score is 551 how can I start rebuilding my credit.

Answer 1

The easiest way is to ask a friend or relative to add you on their credit card as a user, but don't even take that card, ask them to keep it. It will show up on your credit report. If they use their card, your credit gets better, now if they screw up, you get a hickup too, so be careful who you ask. Another way is to go to any bank and deposit $1000 into a CD or something like that, and then ask them for a secured personal loan, that would use that deposit account as a collateral. They should do it for you since this is risk free proposition for them. They might charge you 10-12% interest on that loan, but frankly it does not matter. Say if you borrow 1000 at 12%, your payment will be $88.85, per month, you will have overpaid about $67 in interest. Not a big deal. But do make all payments on time. You will also earn some interest in that CD, so you will be fine. Talk to a bank, they will be happy to help. If you don't have the $1000, borrow from a friend, you will only need this money for a few days, since you will get the check when loan is approved. I like this option better than secured credit card, since some secured credit cards do not report to credit bureaus. I know Citibank used to do that. I got a secured card for 18 months, and they did not report it until it got converted (18 months later) into a regular insecured card.

Answer 2

Building your credit score is one of the biggest frauds and myths that the American population has fallen for. Your credit score is comprised of these five things (from Fair Isaac, the company who created the FICO score):
Payment History - 35%
Amounts Owed - 30%
Length of Credit History - 15%
New Credit - 10%
Types of Credit Used - 10%

Note that the above all deal with your ability to get into debt and stay in debt - in reality, it is an "I love debt" score. If you're a multi-millionaire and have had no debt for years, your score will plummet or be 0 (no score). The Bible says that "The borrower is slave to the lender." (Prov. 22:7) It is so true.

The best way to "build your credit" is to not build your credit. Instead, get on a budget, live on less than you make, and follow Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps (linked below). It will give you a plan for life on how to handle your finances. He says that personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge... it is so true. Take a look at the steps and enroll into a Financial Peace University class near you - it will change your life and the way you look at money forever... it has for my wife and I. Now we lead this class (we're about to lead our third class) so we can help others get out of debt and live on a plan... and we do not get a dime from it - just the satisfaction of helping others. Good luck.

Answer 3

take $400 to a bank, deposit it in a savings account. get a loan against that, do the same thing at 2 other banks. make them short term, 6 month loans. pay every month, on time, maybe a day or two early, then yo'ull have 3 credit references when you get then paid off, plus you'll have $1200 in savings accounts.

Answer 4

You can get one of those credit cards that are for people with bad credit. I just started building my credit with this credit card. www.total.com