I remember back in the good old days when things were not so rosy for me- a couple of bankruptcies will do that to you-when I couldn't borrow a cold. Bad credit is always an obstacle when trying to borrow money or get a credit card. You will be faced with higher rates and payments if you can get one at all.

Your options are very limited. Lending institutions will assume you're a high risk customer and act accordingly either denying you the loan or charging higher rates to compensate the risk. Offering a co-signer can sometimes solve this problem. The co-signer's credit score will also be taken into account and might reduce the interest rate charged and get you approved. However, for unsecured loans, it is not always enough.

My first post bankruptcy credit card had to be secured by cash.

Now, if you are among those who hold a bad credit history, you can easily apply for credit cards or loans specially designed for those with bad credit.

For example, having a bad credit report does not make you ineligible to get a home equity loan. Moreover, home equity loans are an excellent solution both for the lender and for the borrower when bad credit is a problem. Home equity loans solve the problems of security for the lender and lower rates for the borrower.

The fact is that people with bad credit can get home equity loans much easier compared to other loans. However, you need to be careful with repayment. Since these loans are secured so the lender is protected against default, if you miss payments you risk repossession of the asset used as collateral.

If you use the proceeds wisely and pay off credit card debt for example that in and of itself may help improve your credit score. But there is a secret here. Once the credit card debt is paid off-don't run it up again.

For homeowners with a bad credit score getting a Home Equity Loan is relatively easy. Like everything else do your homework for the best deal and be careful not to make your situation worse by frivolous spending of the proceeds.