An inexperienced bankruptcy attorney or financial counselor might advise someone to just get rid of their credit cards entirely. Makes sense on the surface, right? The thought process is that if you don’t have a lot of access to funds, you won’t spend as much, and it’s tempting to say you’ll never get a credit card again. But a cash-only existence doesn’t always provide for emergencies, or even make financial sense. As an experienced bankruptcy attorney, I usually recommend my clients get one credit card (and use it responsibly) after they receive their bankruptcy discharge.

That means for regular, necessary expenses and emergencies only (as I have often explained to my marketing assistant, shoes do not constitute emergencies). You should aim to fully pay the card off each month to avoid excessive interest charges. Making regular payments on a revolving account like a credit card can help raise your credit score substantially.

The following are reasons why I tell my clients to get a credit card:

1. Closed financial accounts weigh down your credit score. Any type of closed out account is a negative on your credit report. If you suddenly went from having three credit cards to having zero, your score would drop substantially.

2. A credit card can be helpful for emergencies. Bad things happen to everyone at some point. We understand. But say something happened to your family car, and you needed to get it fixed so that you could get to work. You know the pitfalls of payday loans. Having a card on hand for emergencies could be a solution.

3. They can be helpful to raise your credit score if you use them responsibly. Typically, after a client receives their bankruptcy discharge, we see their credit score go up (because all the debt weighing it down has been erased). But the tricky part after getting the “bankruptcy bump” is keeping it up there. A big part of establishing good credit is getting a credit card, and using it responsibly. This means paying it off every month (and we don’t just mean the minimum payment) and spending reasonably for your credit limit.

So, as you see, as long as you use your credit card responsibly, it can work to your benefit.You can also be prepared in case an unexpected emercency comes up, so don’t be too set against them, in some ways they can help you.

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