If you're reading this, then there's a good chance you've recently filed for bankruptcy. Naysayer's may have tried to convince you that filing for bankruptcy means you're going to have bad credit for the next seven years. Your attorney, friends, or family may all be telling you how bad your life is going to be because of your bankruptcy.

These warnings are FALSE.

While filing for bankruptcy definitely hurts your credit, you can overcome most of the harmful effects in as little as one year. If you know how to work the credit system, you can have good credit again soon.

1. Put you house in order.

You want to create a budget and make a savings plan. It's very important you come up with a savings plan that you're going to follow. You also need to make sure that any creditors who send you collection notices are taken care of right away. You can't ignore these notices just because they're for debt that was included in your bankruptcy. Contact the creditor and make sure they know so they don't file a new collection and stop the re-establishment process. Last, make sure you know why you filed for bankruptcy and how you're going to make sure it doesn't happen again.

2. Start hoarding cash and saving paperwork.

While saving a couple of months salary is probably the hardest part of the process, you need to have an emergency cash fund. Besides, you'll need cash for a down payment and secured credit cards. You also need to save all of your important financial documents like pay stubs, bank statements, and bankruptcy documents. Keep them in a safe place because you'll need them to show creditors in the future.

3. Get a secured credit card.

Once you're able to save up a little bit of cash it's time to get a secured credit card. Secured credit cards are credit cards secured by a cash deposit, with the amount of your deposit being the amount of available credit. The key to these cards is to use them only once and then destroy them. When your first bill comes, pay the card in full. By doing this you'll trick the credit reporting agencies into giving you credit for making payments in full every month, even though you've only used the card once. By destroying the card, you make sure your balance stays at zero.

4. Buy an inexpensive pre-owned car.

Believe it or not, buying a car after a recent bankruptcy can be done. But you need to know a couple of things first: this car isn't going to be the car of your dreams. The car of your dreams is probably too expensive. If the first car you buy after bankruptcy is something cheap with good resale value (like a small car or small SUV) you can trade it in a year and get a car you'll like. Also, you've got to have a down payment saved up.

5. More credit cards.

Now that you have a secured credit card and a car loan that you've been making payments on, you have enough credit to get some low limit national credit cards (like Discover, Visa, MasterCard). Make certain that the cards you apply for do not have an annual fee, and you should also look into getting a credit card from your local credit union. Whatever you do, remember that if your application is denied you need to call and ask WHY. Often times you can convince a credit card company to approve a declined application with a little persistence.

6. Get the car you like.

The goal ? you can now get the car you want after your bankruptcy. If you've followed all of the previous steps, you will have a good credit history AND a good credit score. Buying the car, truck, or SUV you want is now firmly in your grasp.

Some things to consider as you re-establish. First, saving money is an important life skill. As long as you have savings you don't have any financial problems. Follow a budget, think before you buy anything, and don't put yourself in a position where you can financially fail if something goes wrong. Finally, remember what caused you to file bankruptcy and make sure you don't repeat it.