Just imagine a tornado sweeping through your town, and destroying everything in its path.
When the storm finally subsides, the people of the town find that everything is destroyed.
Houses are demolished, and uprooted trees are lying on the ground.
The people of the town are hopeless and feel everything has lost.
Many people get that same feeling when it comes to their credit.
Much like the storm, debts that go to collections can cause a person's credit to be destroyed.
Not only is your credit ruined, you may well be listed within ChexSystems.
And it is entirely logical to assume that you are also listed in the Early Warning System (EWS), a fraud detection, and credit-reporting database.
Your whole world may feel like you're experiencing a financial tornado.
When it comes to clearing your credit, the concept is the same.
After a storm, people begin to clean, and the same action is necessary after your credit has been blemished.
There is hope for people who have been hit by this whirlwind.
The road is long, and it will take much dedication and perseverance.
The most important word in cleaning up one's credit is self-restraint.
Learning how to be disciplined is something that many with blemished credit have failed to do.
In order to determine where your money is being spent, you need to create a budget.
A budget can be difficult to create, but once you calculate your income versus your obligations, it is quite easy to figure out how much you can actually spend.
Now, whether you adhere to this number is another story altogether.
If you struggle with self-restraint, contact a consumer-counseling agency to manage your debt negotiation and repayment plan.
Next, you will need to get into the rebuilding-credit mindset.
Much like the analogy of the storm, clean up will take some time.
Do not try to do everything at once, because this will almost always lead to failure.
Tackle one debt at a time, paying it off and moving on to the next.
There is no need to contact all of your creditors at the same time.
In fact, this could set off a barrage of harassing phone calls or threatening letters if the debt has been sold to a collection agency.
The final thing you need to focus on when clearing your credit is sticking with the plan.
Restoring your good name will take a considerable amount of time.
Don't think that because you are in repayment with a few creditors that all is well.
It took you time to blemish your credit, and it will take even more time to get your record into creditworthy condition.
As long as you stay focused, create healthy spending habits and see this process through, your credit will be restored.
The financial storm will clear, and creditors will be willing to lend to you at a future point in time.
With your second chance, be wise.
Remember the storm; remember the damaged, and you'll appreciate your credit that much more.