• Home
  • Bankruptcy in Brief
  • ABC’s of Bankruptcy
  • Considering Bankruptcy
  • True Stories
  • Chapter 13
  • Blog
  • About
  • TOC

Northern California Bankruptcy Lawyer

On The Bankruptcy Soapbox

The Soap Box
  • How bankruptcy works
  • Mortgage Matters
  • Consumer Rights
  • You & Your Lawyer
  • Small Business
  • Family Law

Bouncing Back From Bankruptcy: The To-Do List

By Cathy Moran

Recovering from bankruptcy isn’t hard. You’ve hurdled the debt chasm and finished your bankruptcy case.

There’s a fresh  start ahead.

But where do you start on that fresh start?

Consider this to-do list for bouncing back from bankruptcy.

Keep on keeping on

Whether your bankruptcy case was a Chapter 7, over and done in months, or a Chapter 13 reorganization lasting years, you’ve probably been funneling money at old debt problems for a long while.

Use that discipline you honed through tough times to set aside a like amount for yourself now that you’re out of debt.

You’ve shown that you can do it.  Keep doing it, but for yourself and your family.

  • Create an emergency fund, so you don’t have to resort to credit cards or payday loans when there’s an unexpected or infrequent expense.
  • Up your retirement game.  We live longer and that’s no fun if you’re barely getting by.

Know what debts survived your bankruptcy

Not all debts get wiped out in bankruptcy.  Figure out what remains to be paid, if anything, in your case.

Debts that survive a bankruptcy discharge

A creditor with a debt that survives the bankruptcy retains legal rights to enforce that debt.

So make a list of the surviving debts and make a plan for payment.  If you can’t retire the debt as fast as the creditor insists, consider filing Chapter 13 to impose a 3-5 year repayment plan on the troublesome creditor.

Figure out where your money goes now

Take a look at the fixed expenses in your life.  Usually that’s housing and transportation.

Can you afford the mortgage payment or the car payment that stretches out into your future?

Look at your monthly expenses that are more easily trimmed.

  • what are you spending on cable, internet, and cell phones?
  • are you overpaying for insurance on your car or your home?
  • do you rely on fast food or prepared meals that you could fix at home?
  • are you having more taxes withheld than required to pay what you’ll owe?

Clean up your credit report

I’d like to say that credit reports are only important if you want to get back into debt.

That’s what credit reports were created to do:  help lenders decide who gets credit and at what price.

But the unfortunate truth today is that credit reports impact rental housing; insurance rates; and even job prospects.

So, make sure the debt discharged in your bankruptcy shows as having a zero balance. Here’s how.

Avoiding another financial crisis

Most bankruptcies are triggered by things over which you have little control:

  • job loss;
  • ill health;
  • divorce.

You may not be able to insure that none of those things happen again.

But with forethought and savings, you can absorb many financial blows and survive.

More

What’s life really like after bankruptcy

Resetting how you think about money and life style

Your mortgage after bankruptcy

Your discharge comes with rights: enforce them

More from the Soapbox

  • When Can I File Bankruptcy AgainWhen Can I File Bankruptcy Again
  • At Risk of Repossession?  How To Keep The Car & Pay LessAt Risk of Repossession? How To Keep The Car & Pay Less
  • Has Your Social Security Number Been Suspended?Has Your Social Security Number Been Suspended?
  • Bankruptcy Drives Credit Score SurpriseBankruptcy Drives Credit Score Surprise
  • 7 Keys To Keeping Your House: Chapter 13 After You File7 Keys To Keeping Your House: Chapter 13 After You File

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2019, life after bankruptcy

About Cathy Moran

I'm a veteran bankruptcy lawyer and consumer advocate in California's Silicon Valley. I write, teach, and speak in the hopes of expanding understanding of how bankruptcy can make life better in a family's future.

Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

How Bankruptcy Works

What Happens To Your Bank Account in Chapter 13

Those considering filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy worry about "what happens to my bank account?" Will the trustee take all the money? How do I pay my living expenses after I file? The short answer is: nothing changes. The account remains yours and available for all the expenses of day to day living. Because, … Read more

More Posts from this Category

643 Bair Island Road
Suite 403
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (650) 694-4700
Phone: (650) 368-4700

Categories

All content copyright © Moran Law Group. All rights reserved.