You should start rebuilding your credit right away.
A lot of people who make a consumer proposal or file personal bankruptcy think that they will have to wait until their filing is completely off of their credit report to start rebuilding their credit rating. While filing either results in a negative mark on your credit bureau report, you can and should start rebuilding right away.
It is best to think of your credit rating as a report card. When you file personal bankruptcy or make a consumer proposal it’s like you got a bad mark on your report card. While this bad mark will definitely lower your average you can improve your credit rating by accumulating good marks on your “credit report card”.
The only way to accumulate good marks on your credit report card is to borrow money and pay it back. While it can be difficult to encourage creditors to lend you money, it is possible. The two best ways to get creditors to lend you money and allow you to start rebuilding your credit rating is to:
Use a secured credit card
Get a co-signer
Both of these approaches reduce the creditors risk so that they’re more willing to allow you to use credit despite your poor rating.
Remember the first step to rebuilding your credit rating is having a plan to get out of debt. It’s pointless to try to maintain or improve your credit rating if you are struggling.
