• Declaring bankruptcy is undeniably credit damaging; however, taking this debt-escape option does not mean that your credit will be left beyond repair. Rehabbing your credit after bankruptcy is not an easy task, but with dedication and patience you can restore your credit to a reasonable level and increase your chances of securing financing for future purchases.
  
  

Check Credit Report

• While you may be hesitant to look at your credit report after filing bankruptcy for fear of what you will see, it is important that you do so. After giving your bankruptcy approximately a month to process, pull your credit bureau reports and ensure that all of your information is reported properly. If some of the debts that should have been expunged through bankruptcy are still showing as delinquent, contact the credit bureau in question and have this corrected.
  
  

Determine and Avoid Previous Problems

• Before you dive back into the world of credit usage, take time to consider what caused you to experience credit problems in the past. Jot down a list of things that went wrong and consider ways in which you can avoid these things again. Stow this list away in a desk drawer or post it in your home office as a reminder of the things you need to do differently this time.
  
  

Get New Credit

• The only way to rebuild your credit report is to repopulate it with new cards. As an individual fresh off a bankruptcy, you will likely not be able to get cards with the most agreeable terms or the highest limits; however, any cards you can obtain will help your credit rating.
  
  

Put Credit to Use

• Don't allow your newly opened cards to stagnate, but instead build your credit history by using them. Use them lightly and don't place more on them than you can pay off in one month to ensure that you don't spiral into debt a second time.
  
  

Stay Away from Credit Card Limits

• Cards that report as close to the limit negatively impact your credit rating. To avoid this credit-crushing occurrence, don't allow your cards to get near the limit and, if you do, pay them off immediately. For an optimum credit rating, you want it to appear that you have an assortment of credit options that you are opting not to use.
  
  

Seek an Installment Loan

• Installment loans, such as car loans or mortgages, reflect positively on your credit and demonstrate your creditworthiness. As you work to rebuild your credit, obtain some of these loans. Do not borrow more than you can handle, and take care to pay on the loans faithfully to ensure that they report as positively as possible on your credit bureau report.