To assist in creating and sticking to the budget, some trustees offer individual and group education programs. Hildebrand is one of a few dozen Chapter 13 trustees (out of more than 200) in the U.S. to do so.

Hildebrand's students learn about the basics of life within Chapter 13. Attendance rates are low, since the programs aren't required. But anyone who wants permission to borrow money must go. "Many of them who leave that class change their mind," he points out.

Still, Chapter 13 plans can be modified -- or even converted to Chapter 7 -- if a life event such as layoff occurs.

And those completing the challenging plan typically feel a huge sense of accomplishment. "It lets people walk away with a little more pride," says Experian's Sweet.

Unlucky 13
Unfortunately, the majority of Chapter 13 plans fail. Living on a bankruptcy budget is "sobering," Hildebrand says. "It is sad, it is eye-opening." Coming up with a couple of hundred dollars in court filing fees may well be just the beginning of the constant stress to come during the three- to five-year period.

Living expenses are partially determined by the regional demographics, Viale notes, so, "There's no real great formula to say you're not going to be living on rice." Williams adds, "If you've got an old car, it's going to get older."

Or as Stephen Snyder puts it, "You've got three- to five-years of living in debt hell, with someone watching over your shoulder telling you what you can and can't do." That's why Snyder, author of "Credit After Bankruptcy" and most recently, "Do You Make These 38 Mistakes with Your Credit?" chose Chapter 7 for himself when he filed more than 10 years ago.

Embarrassment is also a factor. At the courthouse, debtors are nervous and apprehensive, with their heads down, Williams says. And because debt payments are via payroll deduction, filing Chapter 13 is no secret at work.

It's also often evident to strangers, since filing bankruptcy is hardly a credit report clean-slate. In fact, it's the "most devastating thing you can do to your credit report," says Lowe. Need to lease an apartment, get a cell phone, rent a car or make an online purchase? Not likely to happen. "People don't want to let go of their lifestyle," says Snyder, who leads a Credit after Bankruptcy seminar.

And if they want to let go of a marriage -- financial problems are a major spousal relationship strain -- the debts will still be tied to both parties, regardless of any legal documents about who's assuming what debt.

Despite all the negatives, there's still that light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

"A bankruptcy is just something that happened in your past. The past does not equal the future. It can be repaired. And you need to focus on how to increase your credit scores by simply changing your credit habits," says Snyder. Bankruptcy has been called a seven to 10-year prison sentence, but, "if you know what to do," he adds, "it doesn't have to be that long at all."

Melissa M. Ezarik is a freelance writer based in Connecticut.