MasConcepts Incorporated

My spouse and I have now had three bankruptcy consultations, and all three attorneys have come to pretty much the same conclusion: we’re most likely looking at a Chapter 13, probably a 100% plan.
We’re a two-person household in California with no children. We both work and together bring home around $9,700/month after taxes/deductions. We have older cars that are completely paid off. Our debt is all unsecured debt – credit cards/personal loans, and it has ballooned to around $95,000 across 11 accounts. What’s even more upsetting to me is the debt isn’t from all this lavish spending either. We don’t have a new car, toys like RV’s or ATV’s, no lavish travel. None of that.
On paper, I completely understand why our situation probably looks like we should be doing well. Two incomes, no kids, no car payments, decent take-home pay. But the reality of our monthly expenses in California feels very different, and we got ourselves into a hole that eventually became impossible to keep up with.
Before all of this, we paid everything on time and both had 800+ credit scores. Then we went through a period where we relied heavily on credit, balances climbed, some cards became maxed out, and eventually the minimum payments became unsustainable due to interest. We stopped paying the unsecured debt about two months ago and have been saving that money toward attorney/bankruptcy costs instead.
The part I’m struggling with now is accepting what Chapter 13 could actually mean.
Based on the consultations, it sounds like we could be looking at somewhere around $1,500–$2,000/month for FIVE YEARS. I know logically that $95k of debt has to be dealt with somehow, and a structured payment without the credit card interest continuing to bury us has obvious benefits. But 60 months just feels like such an enormous amount of time when I think about actually living under a court-supervised repayment plan.
I’ve been making myself sick with stress over this entire situation, and I’m also dealing with a recent health issue that has made me realize how much this has consumed me.
I think part of what I’m struggling with emotionally is that it almost feels like we’re being penalized for some of the things that I previously thought were financially responsible. We don’t have children, our older cars are paid off, and therefore we don’t have some of the expenses/deductions that might leave another household with more disposable income on paper. I understand that’s how the system works, but it’s difficult not to feel frustrated by it.
For anyone who has actually completed or is currently in a 100% Chapter 13 plan:

How restrictive has it really been in day-to-day life?

Were you still able to build any savings for emergencies, deal with home/car repairs, take an occasional trip, or generally have some kind of life during those five years?

Did the five years feel as daunting once you were actually in the plan as it did before filing?

And for anyone who entered Chapter 13 with circumstances similar to ours – decent income, no kids, paid-off cars, primarily unsecured debt – do you regret filing, or did having the debt finally contained and on a defined path actually give you some relief?

I also keep thinking, “What if something happens over those five years?” Job loss, major home repair, one of these old cars finally dying, etc. How do people actually navigate those things while they’re in an active Chapter 13?

I know we made the choices that got us here. I’m not trying to avoid responsibility for that. I’m just having a really hard time accepting that this is where we ended up after years of having excellent credit and always paying our bills. I’m trying to find a way to get myself out of a tense state over all of this.

Five years feels like forever from where I’m standing right now. I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually lived through a 100% Chapter 13, especially what you wish you had known before filing.