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Tip #1 – About 60-90 days after your bankruptcy has been discharged; you should pull a copy of all your credit reports.  We recommend –  HYPERLINK “http://www.MyCreditKeeper.com” www.MyCreditKeeper.com for an easy and inexpensive 3-bureau, merged credit report.  Doing this will help you to see exactly how your creditors are reporting the debts that were included in your bankruptcy.  You will want to check for accuracy, because the creditors and credit bureaus are notorious of making errors.  Accuracy means no balances, no past due amounts, and no late payments that post date the discharge of the bankruptcy.

Tip #2 – Start the journey of rebuilding your credit.  You are going to want to start with getting new credit because you need something positive to report on your credit reports.  This can be a double-edged sword, because it may have been too much debt that got you into trouble that made you file bankruptcy.  However, it could have been something totally different and unrelated to poor credit management.

A very good way to start rebuilding credit may be to get a secured credit card.  What is a secured card?  You deposit money with a bank and the bank opens a credit card for you to use against your own money.  The credit limit is an amount equal to your deposit.  After a certain time period, you will be allowed to remove the security off the card.  A secured credit card is not for use long term but it does serve as a short-term purpose by getting something good on your credit reports.

Tip #3 – Create a reasonable budget.  You will not want to go on a shopping spree just because you are debt free.  You are going to want to be frugal and make sure you have a savings plan in place.  Now more than ever you are going to need to have back-up savings since bankruptcy will not again be an option for many years.

Tip #4 – Make sure you pay all your bills on time.  You must show that you have learned from your mistakes and the easiest way of doing this is to pay your bills when they are due.  The best thing you can do is to prove that you are credit worthy.

If you take these steps soon after your bankruptcy, you will be surprised how quickly your credit will improve.

To learn more ways to rebuild your credit score, call Credit Strategies for a complimentary credit consultation at 480-502-5554.

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Tip #1 – About 60-90 days after your bankruptcy has been discharged; you should pull a copy of all your credit reports.  We recommend –  HYPERLINK “http://www.MyCreditKeeper.com” www.MyCreditKeeper.com for an easy and inexpensive 3-bureau, merged credit report.  Doing this will help you to see exactly how your creditors are reporting the debts that were included in your bankruptcy.  You will want to check for accuracy, because the creditors and credit bureaus are notorious of making errors.  Accuracy means no balances, no past due amounts, and no late payments that post date the discharge of the bankruptcy.

Tip #2 – Start the journey of rebuilding your credit.  You are going to want to start with getting new credit because you need something positive to report on your credit reports.  This can be a double-edged sword, because it may have been too much debt that got you into trouble that made you file bankruptcy.  However, it could have been something totally different and unrelated to poor credit management.

A very good way to start rebuilding credit may be to get a secured credit card.  What is a secured card?  You deposit money with a bank and the bank opens a credit card for you to use against your own money.  The credit limit is an amount equal to your deposit.  After a certain time period, you will be allowed to remove the security off the card.  A secured credit card is not for use long term but it does serve as a short-term purpose by getting something good on your credit reports.

Tip #3 – Create a reasonable budget.  You will not want to go on a shopping spree just because you are debt free.  You are going to want to be frugal and make sure you have a savings plan in place.  Now more than ever you are going to need to have back-up savings since bankruptcy will not again be an option for many years.

Tip #4 – Make sure you pay all your bills on time.  You must show that you have learned from your mistakes and the easiest way of doing this is to pay your bills when they are due.  The best thing you can do is to prove that you are credit worthy.

If you take these steps soon after your bankruptcy, you will be surprised how quickly your credit will improve.

To learn more ways to rebuild your credit score, call Credit Strategies for a complimentary credit consultation at 480-502-5554.

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The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been in the news quite a lot lately.  It was created to police financial products marketed to consumers. It has written a credit card agreement that is simplified and written in plain English. It is designed to be understood by a seventh grader, compared to present agreements that are at an eleventh grade level.  The purpose is to make the credit card agreements easier to understand without all the legal language and clarify credit card costs, risks and terms.

New Agreement

The average credit card agreement contains 5,000 words compared to this new agreement which is approximately 1,000 words and two pages long. It is broken down in three sections – costs, changes, and additional information.  There will be an online glossary to explain terms such as billing disputes, privacy, rights, interest rate calculations and the consequences of late payments.

Testing

It will be tested in the first half of 2012 at the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, which is one of the largest credit unions with 350,000 members.  The form will be given to new credit card applicants. Some will be given the Pentagon Federal Credit Union’s current form for comparison purposes.

Adoption

The adoption of the agreement by credit card issuers will be voluntary.  The American Bankers Association (ABA), a trade association that represents the banking industry, is somewhat supportive of the standardized agreement. They thought it could be shorter and more protections needed to protect banks against lawsuits.  Some of the major credit card issuers were generally supportive, but were concerned that it would not cover the full range of financial products.

Research

There is research to support that consumers don’t understand the agreements. According to a study by J.D. Power, two-thirds of the credit cardholders don’t understand how their cards work.  Most of the complaints, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received

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