Getting back on your feet after bankruptcy is really a test of will. Discharging your debts probably left you emotionally and financially drained, but somewhere inside you need to find the will to pick yourself up, make some plans, and get back on your feet.

While you were discharging your debts there was more of a handbook telling you exactly what to do to get things done. Now there isn't really a handbook telling you what to do. A lot of people, feeling drained, decide to do nothing--to avoid all things financial to avoid getting in this situation again. The problem with this strategy is that despite your best efforts to avoid everything, it's not really possible. Bankruptcy comes up when you go to apply for any loans, especially buying a home, when you go to rent an apartment or a car, when you apply for home, car, or health insurance, when you go to apply for credit cards, or even when you go to apply for jobs. You have to live less of a life in your attempts to avoid this situation.

Because you can't really avoid this part of your past, it's better to face it head on and work on improving your credit history. While this won't be coming off of your report for many years, and you know that, you can actually work on building up some positive credit history on your report that will help show that despite your bankruptcy, you are working on rebuilding your life, and eventually people will be more willing to work with you and your life will improve well before the bankruptcy actually falls off your report.

You can have a decent score again in as little as two years with a lot of work to get back on your feet. Join a support group for people who have gone through this before and share rebuilding tips. Look into secured credit cards and work on saving money for deposits (you can't sign up for most utilities or things without some hefty deposits after bankruptcy) and a healthy emergency fund for when things come up. Move forward, get back on your feet, and keep living your life.