Does your business having some signs of bankruptcy or currently dealing with it? Here are some ideas how to climb you up out of the mud.

Bankruptcy means an official statement of economic failure and crippling the ability of the person or company to pay their creditors.

ALWAYS PAY YOUR BILLS FULL AND ON TIME

The very simple bankruptcy facts are this: The credit-scoring bureaus are going to be very cautious about awarding points to people who have declared bankruptcy. As such, you must never make a late payment. You cannot be a single minute past the deadline.

The credit-scoring models consider you an extremely risky borrower, so any indication that you are slipping into old patterns will not bode well for your credit score. You must pay on time each month.

You must never exceed a balance that is more than 30 percent of your limit. So learn how to create a budget and stick to it.

• Installment debts - Even as most unsecured debts will have already been written-off, certain secured debts - mortgages and car loans - will have been reaffirmed under the 2005 bankruptcy laws. Continue to make timely repayments in relation to these debts and student loans and this will lead to a higher credit score.

• Revolving debts - Consider getting a secured or unsecured poor credit card as a source of revolving debt will help with fixing bad credit scores. Avoid using more than 30% of the overall credit limit in any one month - less than 10% is optimal.

Fixing bad credit scores will happen more quickly if timely repayments are made towards a source of both installment and revolving debt.

FIX & OPEN NEW LINES OF CREDIT

Knowing that you are never going to make a late payment, begin opening new lines of credit. Credit bureaus will pay more attention to your recent activities than to things that happened in the past, so if you immediately start using credit responsibly, you will be well on your way to a clean credit record. Obtaining new lines of credit after bankruptcy tells the credit bureaus that while you might have hit hard times, you are on your way up! If you follow this advice and obtain new lines of credit, you can easily raise your score well before the bankruptcy is removed from your credit report in ten years.

Fix your bad credit by removing credit report errors. It is a reality for many discharged bankrupts that some of the debts that have been eliminated by filing for bankruptcy still show as open, overdue financial obligations. The amount of money owed is a vital factor so it is important to get any issues corrected as soon as possible.

As part of your plan for applying the bankruptcy facts to recover after a bankruptcy, you should:

• Try to open an installment loan. If you are buying a new appliance, household furniture, or a computer, ask the sales associate whether you can open an installment loan. Or, go into a bank with a co-signer and apply for an installment loan.

• Open three new credit cards, which you keep active by using in lieu of cash, but pay off in full after each use. If you are at lunch with a friend and have cash to pay the $12 bill, charge the lunch to your credit card. As soon as you return home, make an electronic payment in the amount of $12 (assuming you are not charged for electronic payments). My point is this: keep the cards active, but keep the balance as low as possible month-round.

Three things to keep in mind when opening new accounts:

• To best repair your credit, try to open all your new accounts as soon as possible after the bankruptcy discharge. This might cause your score to drop immediately as lenders might think you are preparing to go on a spending spree. In the long run, though, your credit will benefit from this strategy as credit-scoring bureaus will award more points to those who have the longest relationships with lenders. If you stagger the accounts by opening a new one every six months, you will keep lowering the average age of your accounts.

• You might not qualify for traditional credit cards. Try applying for secured credit cards or ask a family member to add you as a credit card authorized user.

• Because you likely have low credit, you might not qualify for loans and credit cards with low interest rates. This is yet another reason to pay your bills immediately and in full. That said, you might be willing to find lenders willing to compete a little for your business. Trying to negotiate a lower interest rate is always wise.

Furthermore, hiring a personal CPA or even a virtual assistant CPA from an outsourcing company in the Philippines could help more. Remember to budget your expenses carefully just like as you budget your income.