- 1). Go to annualcreditreport.com and request your yearly free credit reports. Read through these to make certain all accounts that were in the bankruptcy are listed as discharged. If not, send in your bankruptcy papers to each bureau and have them correct your reports. You can do this by calling the consumer use phone number given on each of the three reports. When the corrected reports come back to you, check them for accuracy.
- 2). Schedule an appointment with the bank or credit union you use for your checking and savings accounts. Ask the banker about a secured credit card. This is a credit card (line of credit) account that is secured by your savings account. The bank will place a hold on your savings account and give you an open line of credit for all or part of the savings account balance. Your payment history on this account will be reported to the credit bureaus.
- 3). Use the secured credit card, but do not allow the balance to exceed more than 30% of its maximum limit since the purpose of this card is to build credit and good scores. It will take six months of payment history before this new account will affect your credit scores.
- 4). Make 12 months of timely payments. After this, the bank will most likely release your savings account from its hold and may raise your credit limit.
- 5). Build your credit carefully. If you need to buy a car, talk with your banker. You will probably need to make a down payment, but it is best to have a mix of account types in building credit, so a car loan can do your report good as long as you pay on time.
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