After a huge financial change in your life such as a personal bankruptcy, it is sometimes difficult to return to the good habits that would keep you out of bankruptcy again. The entire legal process of bankruptcy is geared towards killing your resolve; however, with a little bit of self discipline and some tried and true budgeting techniques, you can easily find your way back to financial stability and even back to the path of financial freedom.

Below are a few of the ways in which you can help yourself after a personal bankruptcy.

Set up an emergency fund of $1000 immediately – No matter what financial site you go to, no matter which financial guru you follow, you will always find an emergency fund at the basis of all philosophies of financial stability. An emergency fund keeps you from having to dip back into your long term accounts or borrow more money if something unexpected happens while you are building up your finances after a bankruptcy.

Before you do anything else, put $1000 into a short term checking account and keep it there strictly for emergencies. That means you should not take out a debit card on the account. Make the money hard to get to; this is the only way that it will remain an emergency fund.

Get the help that you need to stay on track – The first thing to do after a bankruptcy is to set up a situation in which you can not fall back into the same old habits. You may not think that you need a debt professional to help you to stay on track, but the habits that you form in the first few weeks after you get through with the bankruptcy process will follow you far into the future. It is always best to ensure that you have someone holding you to the discipline that you set for yourself.

Designate a piece of your income for savings – After you create your emergency account and get someone (hopefully a debt professional) to hold you honest, you need to start building other savings accounts to start to build your wealth. These accounts should be a part of your bills just as if they were a utility. Set aside this money every month to put into your savings accounts.

Many financial professionals will say to take the money from net income. Depending on the type of account that you are investing in, you may be able to take that money from your gross income. For instance, if you are investing in an IRA, the money that you put in is tax deductible. You can actually reduce your tax burden in the immediate future if you invest in a certain type of individual retirement account.
Learn to invest in your every day life –

There are many opportunities to invest and save money in your every day life. For instance, buying a coffee machine will save you $1200 over having your daily cup at a convenience store.

Amy is a online writer & IB tutor working at SmileTutor agency currently exploring and publishing useful information on personal bankruptcy in Singapore. She mainly writes about how we can become financially secure and on parenting and education!