Recent articles on rebuilding or reestablishing your credit after foreclosure are popular and can be in all corners of the Internet. But what about rebuilding your life after foreclosure?

“Life goes on” may sound like a cliche, but no matter how devastating the experience, it’s true: Life does goes on. How well it goes on for you and your family hinges a great deal on how well you prepared for and controlled the foreclosure fallout, as well as on your financial resources and emotional frame of mind.

Here are some tips from one of my latest books, Foreclosure Self-Defense For Dummies, that speak directly to rebuilding your life post-foreclosure. In Part II of this post, which will appear later this week, I’ll share five additional ways to rebuild your life after foreclosure.

1. Reboot: As you run and then exit programs on a computer, those programs are not completely removed from your computer’s memory. Over time, the computer’s memory is overrun with errant instructions that slow it down and cause all sorts of mysterious problems. Rebooting the computer by shutting it down and restarting it often resolves the problem. The same is true in life. Sometimes a fresh start is all you really need to get back on track. Leave all the bad stuff in the past, especially any mistakes that you or your partner/spouse may have made leading up to the foreclosure. You can’t change the past. You can only make adjustments to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.
2. Swear off the same mistakes: If some human foible led to your foreclosure — overspending, not working hard enough, gambling, substance abuse, or some other weakness — own up to it and then make a commitment to change. The same applies to any errors of judgment you may have made, such as making your partner/spouse solely responsible for the finances or letting a loan officer convince you that you could “afford more house.”
3. Lean on family and friends: After foreclosure, whether you managed to keep your home or ended up losing it, friends and family can give you the support you need to get back on your feet:
   • Encouragement and love to keep going.
   • Financial support in the form of loans or a job.
   • Watching your children, so you can take on an extra job.
   • Driving you to work and back if you have no reliable mode of transportation.
   • A temporary place to live.
4. Move on, literally: The United States is a big country and jobs often move from one state to another. Consider moving to wherever the best- paying jobs are. Move to where the housing is cheapest. Move to where the schools are excellent and free. Whatever your most pressing needs are, research to find areas that are best suited to meet those needs. The loss of a job in Ohio may be just the opportunity you need to pick up and move to North Carolina.
5. Slash expenses and your cost of living: Chances are good that when you first set out to seek your fortune, your standard of living was fairly low and you needed very little to survive. You lived frugally, had plenty of time, and probably enjoyed life more than ever. What’s to stop you from doing that again? Do you really need a big house and all the trappings of “success?” Most people don’t. Society has sold us a bill of goods, making most of us believe that happiness hinges on owning things.

Check back later in the week for Part II of this important topic.

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