When you have a recent bankruptcy on your back it can be hard to figure out what to do next. This is supposed to be your new start on life, your clean slate, but instead is usually ends up being one big black mark on your credit report that stops you from doing pretty much anything.

It doesn't have to stay this way, though. This won't fall off your credit report for ten years, but you can build up positive credit history and have a good score much sooner than that! With a very structured plan you could have a good score in as little as two years.

This won't happen on it's own, however.

When you have a recent bankruptcy you're not going to be able to do typical things like getting loans or traditional unsecured credit cards, there are things you can do, however. One of the first things you should do is get a secured credit card.

You can go to your current bank and set this up. You deposit a few hundred dollars into a savings account that you won't touch for typically a year (sometimes 18 months) and this account will work as the security for the card, and set your credit limit. If you fail to make your payments on time the bank will simply use the money in the savings account to pay off the card. You don't want this to happen, however, you want to use less than 30% of your limit every month and pay it off at the end of each month. This will help you build a history of healthy credit use.

When you go to sign up for this card with your bank make sure that they will be reporting to the three major credit bureaus so this will show up your credit report.

You want to do this immediately after your recent bankruptcy. About six months to a year later you want to apply for a small loan. You can use this for school, a vehicle, or any other use you can think of. The important thing is to repay the amount on time each month to build up more good history.

Be aware that you will be offered very high interest rates at this point, so this will cost you money. But for your efforts you'll end up with a better score, and then be offered lower rates in the future. Also, if you have something to offer as collateral on the loan, like a home or vehicle or valuable collectibles, your interest rates will drop considerably.

By taking these steps to build up a positive history you are showing that you have moved on from your recent bankruptcy and can now be trusted financially by companies.