The first order of business...eliminate the problem that led you to file in the first place. Unlike the governmenta??who can print more money when they get in a binda??we don't have that luxury to get out of our dilemma.

This first step to bankruptcy recovery can be tough for most people. It was tough for me and my wife, Michelle. We had to come to the realization that the way we managed money didn't work.

I wanted all the toys and luxuries everyone else had, even though we couldn't afford them. But of course, this didn't prevent me from buying expensive items we really didn't need.

This got us into financial problems. Michele and I eventually agreed I was the problem. When our Jeep Grand Cherokee and furniture were repossessed, it was my wake-up call. I still remember helping the repossessors load our new furniture in their trucka??and Michele crying on the front porch.

Obviously, we were doing something wrong with our money.

Instead of asking someone else to fix our finances for us, Michele and I were determined to manage our money wiselya??in order to create a foundation to build on.

So we started with common sense. We asked friends and family who were good with money how they managed their finances.

We quickly learned that we couldn't have luxuries and money while we were rebuilding our credit. We needed to choose one.

Here are some of the steps Michele and I took to recover from bankruptcy:

Began paying our bills early...worst-case, on time

We stopped paying our bills late. We drew a line in the sand and said..."No more! All bills from this point on will be paid early...worst-case, on time." It was amazing how much we saved in late fees and overdrafts...not to mention the satisfaction of being responsible. Initially it wasn't easy. But the short-term sacrifices were worth long-term financial stability.

This is easier today than it was for us many years ago. Today you can take advantage of online bill-pay or automatic bill-pay.

Avoided finance companies

It's easy to get loans or credit after bankruptcy from a finance company. And some (misinformed) people will actually tell you this is good. Credit from a finance company is not good. Not only is it very expensive, having finance companies appear on your credit reports lowers your FICO credit scores (which makes everything else more expensive).

Finance companies are the lenders of last resort. You have to stay away from them at all costs...unless you don't mind paying 25% interest and working with lenders who are friends with the Mafia.

Just said, "No," to co-signers

Bankrupt people often think, "The only way I can get new credit is to have a co-signer." Whether that's from a parent, brother, sister, relative, friend...whatever...you don't need that kind of help reestablishing credit.