During the 3 to 5 years a debtor is in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, he/she cannot acquire new debt (credit cards, bank loans etc.) without the permission of the bankruptcy trustee. While in Chapter 13 bankruptcy the debtor is put on a credit diet so to speak to insure that he/she does not recreate the situation that led them to bankruptcy in the first place. In other words, debtors in Chapter 13 bankruptcy are forced to live on their income only, plus repay old creditors. The Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a fresh start with your old creditors and could be endangered if you are paying new debt as well as the creditors in Chapter 13. Even if you are taking out a loan to pay off your Chapter 13 plan it is highly unlikely that a Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee would approve the new debt. To the contrary the trustee may conclude that if you have enough money to pay for new debt then you may have enough money to pay more to your old creditors. This conclusion may cause the trustee to increase your Chapter 13 bankruptcy payments, so beware of what you ask for.