Credit Recovery – Phase I: Before You File

MERNA LAW’S

CREDIT RECOVERY PROGRAM

Phase I – Before You File

Welcome to the first step in restarting your credit and your financial future. This program is not designed to solve all of your financial or credit issues. It is designed to give you the steps and awareness to educate yourself and begin a lifetime of credit and financial awareness… and accelerate your credit recovery. So let’s get at it…..

Phase I covers what to do from the time you hire The Merna Law Group to the filing of your case.

You need to be aware that your credit erosion is still going on since you have not filed your case. During this phase, as we have instructed you, refer all of your creditors to our office. They are continuing to report that you are not paying on your credit report which is holding down or pushing your score down further.

What you need to do to help your credit recovery during this phase are simple.

1) Make absolutely sure that by the time you have filed your case you have included ALL of your creditors. This includes everyone you owe whether you intend to pay them or not.

The biggest mistake a person who is about to file bankruptcy can make which will continue to affect their credit recovery is to not include everyone they owe. This occurs either when they are lazy, assume their credit report is comprehensive or they purposely try not to list or disclose a credit.

Testimonial: “I have had many comments about what a good attorney (The Merna Law Group) I had when they pull my credit [after bamkruptcy]…they say you really did a good job when my bankruptcy was filed!! That most attorney’s are very sloppy when doing the filing, but you covered the accounts well!” D.B. of Virginia Beach.

2) This is an educational time and a time for reflection. You need to assess the behavior, circumstances, twist of fate that left you with bankruptcy as your best option. Everyday and every consultation I have with a client they are impelled to try to explain to me what is causing them to file bankruptcy. Most of the time they are wrong and are just trying to provide an excuse. You need to really assess what was behavior, poor financial choice or act of God was truly behind you filing bankruptcy.

Tip- Start and live within a budget. You need to get your spending on track and under control. It is crucial to recovering. There are many non-profit organizations around in Richmond, Newport News, Virginia Beach as well as surrounding areas that can assist you with this. Phone apps are great for this because you will have the budget at your finger tips.

3) Take a baseline on your credit score the week before your case is filed. Pull your credit score by visiting CreditKarma.com for your credit score. This will be your baseline to determine how well your credit recovery is going. Send your score to us by e-mailing it to us at jmerna@mernalaw.com. We will track your score with you from the start to applaud you in your ultimate success.

Now that you have your first baseline credit score, which you need to proceed with the course, please hit the registration button below and sign up for the course and set your first goal.

Tip – Write down everything you spend money on for a week. While they call it “disposable income” they really didn’t mean flush it down the toilet. What most people find when the take this small step is that they realize their “soft costs” like that $4 cup of Starbucks or that Big Mac mean every day really add up in a month both in costs and added inches. We want you around for a long time so cut back on the fast food and pack a lunch. It will not only save you inches but will save you cash.

4) Sign up to receive our weekly blogs and financial tips by e-mailing your name and phone number to jmerna@mernalaw.com.

At this point this is all you can do as you are waiting to file. Any actually credit recovery can not start until we stop the continued damage by filing your bankruptcy. In Phase II, recovery tips while your bankruptcy is active, you will be able to being some basic preparation and recovery even while you are in the bankruptcy process. These tips will put you way ahead of the crowd.

Tip – Make it a family affair with one basic rule “full disclosure”. Recovery cannot happen if everyone in the house is not cooperating. It also cannot happen if you are separating bank accounts and not disclosing spending. I am not saying you have to combine accounts and coordinate spending. I am saying if there is an imbalance in the household income and responsibility there is a greater likelihood that one or both of the “team” will fail.

We look forward to getting your case filed and moving forward with your recovery. Don’t forget to ask for access to Phase II when you are filing your case.

Our Accelerated Credit Recovery Program is a work in progress. Your suggestions tips, discoveries, comments, testimonials, etc. will help us improve the course for the multitude of other people in your situation. E-mail any suggestions or tips to jmerna@mernalaw.com. And thank you for using The Merna Law Group.

Phase II – During Your Bankruptcy