I would have been much better served by a chapter ...

I would have been much better served by a chapter 7 and wasted a couple years dragging my credit through the mud and not really being able to afford it. Only benefits are... If you have many accounts it's too many to settle and manage with ft work. Also you can get a subprime mortgage without bankruptcy. Original settlements were good like 30% principal but got worse over time. Also they negotiate settlement over time, doing it yourself is lump sum or 90 days. I got screwed out of about 15k in 401k.

But, my Boomer parents are ignorant of this being financially set and per usual had no good advice (fellow xillenials). If you can't afford a bankruptcy and can't afford Consolidated, it's a good option to save until filing.