There may be times in your life that you get yourself into a financial jam, even if you thought you had enough money in your emergency fund. 

Maybe it was a car repair bill that insurance didn’t cover, or major medical bills. Or, as we saw recently, a hurricane that caused devastating flooding in your community.
Sometimes, that emergency fund isn’t enough to cover all of it, and you may find yourself in a deep financial hole.

There are a few steps you can take that will help you rebuild your credit and raise your credit score over time.

First, call your lenders and tell them what happened and why. They may be able to help by offering you a lower interest rate, a hardship pause on your payments, or something else like a 0% balance transfer to make things easier. But, your lenders can’t help you recover if they don't know you need help. It may be hard, but pick up the phone and make those calls.

Then, after you’ve talked to all of your lenders, get back to basics:

• Pay your bills on time and in full. A lot of your credit score is based on whether you are trustworthy and responsible with money, so work on showing that you’re doing your best!
• See what you can do to make more money. If your health allows it, it may be time to pick up an extra part-time job, sell things you no longer need, or turn that hobby into a money-making venture.
• Start rebuilding that emergency fund, too. You don’t want another setback to make things worse if you can help it!
• Reduce your expenses as much as possible. You may be going without some creature comforts like that afternoon latte, but you need to throw as much money at your debt as you can.

CommonWealth One has financial counselors who are ready and willing to help you put the pieces back together as quickly as possible. We’re just a click, call or an email away, or feel free to stop into a branch and make an appointment. We’re here for you, for life, and for all the challenges that life throws at you.