Life After Bankruptcy Isn’t All Bad

Some people do have a hard time bouncing back after filing bankruptcy. Some never actually make it back and often have to file again in 7 years. The problem with bankruptcy (one of the problems anyway) is that there is no way to regulate or prevent people from getting into trouble again and having the same issues. It has, in my opinion, a lot to do with changing the way we spend money and learning to manage the money we have better. Which, of course I didn’t do at first.

A year after my bankruptcy I acquired a slew of credit cards. Like a trick to mess me up and I fell for it. No one needs the credit cards I have.  My parents also co-signed on a vehicle that I needed and two years after the bankruptcy I was able to buy my own car. I was even approved for a low interest rate on the loan. My credit was over 700 (for some odd reason).

Combine bad spending habits, medical bills, being a single mother, and of course the bad economy and you have officially concocted something muddy that could possibly result in another bankruptcy. It was the fear of going through this again, of looking like a failure…again in yet another area of my life that jolted me back to reality. Kind of. I did suddenly become aware of the fact that I was heading for trouble again.

Luckily, I’ve managed to pay a lot of it down and am able to work on getting things in order. I need to purchase a house one day. I need to be able to buy things for my child. I need electricity. Living financially irresponsibly is no longer my cup of tea. Raising my daughter with money sense the way my parents raised me, is the new drink on the menu.

Credit Cards I Acquired After Bankruptcy (I know you want to know)

• Hooters (no reason, except that they gave me a higher limit than everyone else.)
• Capital One
• HSBC
• WAMU (who was sold to Chase, who totally messed me all up. See: Any posts regarding Chase Bank.)
• HSN I do not use anymore
• Walmart I do not use and should not. Do not charge stuff from Walmart, that’s just dumb.
• Target I do not use and should not. Do not charge stuff from Target, that’s just dumb.
• Kay Jewelers I have never used but have an open line of credit which I will never use.
• Barclays Bank (or Juniper)
• Car loan was with my credit union.

So, it’s not so difficult to get the credit as most people wonder about. It’s actually managing the credit wisely and changing the habits that make us resort to bankruptcy in the first place. Hopefully we can learn from the first time so we don’t have to resort to it again.