I had to file about seven years ago and just got out from under it last summer. I filed Chapter 13 and paid it back over time by deductions from my paychecks. I had already moved out of my house and it was on the market when I filed and they took a HUGE amount out of my check until it sold because they considered the property to be an "asset". Once it sold though, the payments went down a lot - but still a big chunk out of my check. I could have kept the house if I were willing to pay the higher amount but I HATED that house anyway and had already planned to move.
My experience was a little different though. I was told that, according to the rules, you are not allowed to incur ANY further debt while still under bankruptcy without the permission of the bankruptcy court. Maybe that's just Chapter 13, and maybe you can get a credit card if you kind of fly under the radar. But they told me that if you do something like that and they find out, the bankruptcy can be called off and you could be left holding the bag to repay the full amounts of what you owed. Mine turned in to a mess because while the bankruptcy court was paying off the last few payments on my car, a deer ran out in front of it and totalled the car! My landlord owns a car lot and let me drive a much cheaper car from his lot - the plan was that the I would use my insurance settlement from the wrecked car to pay him for the cheaper car. It would pay for it all except a few hundred dollars that he told me to "just give it to him when I had it". Sounds simple, right? NOT! First, the court wanted to keep my insurance check and put it toward the unpaid amounts! Then they told me that THEY had to approve any major purchase, like a new car, even an appliance! I had to explain that I HAD to have a car to get to work - well, duh! Hard to pay off the rest with NO JOB!!! Then, instead of sending the insurance check to me, they sent it to my lawyers office, who didn't tell me they had it for weeks! I was fit to be tied! Then, the court wanted to consider those few hundred dollars I still owed on the car as a 'new debt' and it took even longer and even more paper work for them to approve that! If I didn't have a very understanding landlord selling me the car, I don't know what would have happened!
Most people don't consider bankruptcy unless they have no other alternative, and if you have to you have to. I did. But just be warned that it is NOT an easy fix, and that if you file Chapter 13 you will be pretty much under their control until it is completely paid off! It did help greatly though. I would have never been able to pay it off otherwise. The balances were reduced, no more fees were applied, and the interest rates were cut to almost nothing.
What I would do if I were you is to find an attorney that specializes in bankruptcy and go in and talk with them. Many don't charge for that first consultation and they can tell you what your options are. If I had filed for Chapter 7, I would have had to pay attorney fees before the process was started. But since I filed Chapter 13, the attorneys fees were deducted from my paycheck deductions and I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket to get it started.