<prompt> Human: Hi Reddit,Im recently married and my husband and I do kinda well for ourselves. We help out my family a lot financially mostly from my income- we have shared account for bills and separate for discretionary. Whats worrying me though is we need to buckle down on our finances and I cant keep supporting my family but I dont know how to get out of it. Is there any way they can ever become self sufficient and able to retire?Parents info:Self employed- the business makes money but theyre drowning in debt mostly pay day loans because they both have horrible credit so all the profits mostly go into these loans that are automatic deducted daily. These should be paid off in three months leaving more free cash flow:Other debts:25,000 to friends 16,000 to irs in sales tax which they dont have180,000 on their mortgage for a house that cost 210,000 and is now worth maybe 100k. Its falling apart and would need a complete remodel to ever be sellable. Were considering a short sale. Their current mortgage is 1,650.30,000 worth of rent to restaurant landlord but the space isnt in a super desirable area for restaurants so the landlord is not mentioned it as long as rent is not missed again and it hasnt been an issue in a year thankfullyMaybe 4K in combined credit card debt.Their cars are paid off, so other expenses include:250 insurancesPhonesWiFiNetflix, Hulu- 150No real grocery bill as they own a restaurant and generally eat all their meals there since they both work daily. They have zero savings. Zero as in my mom maybe has 200. My husband and I have supported my parents and step sister over the years and it just needs to stop but I have no clue how.If they work part time the restaurant cant really function- and what they would pay in salary lose in tips my mom serves would be comparable to work they would be able to get since they arent very skilled mom has English degree, step dad is an ex cop. Were going on vacation soon that was gifted to my parents my husband and I are paying our own way so I dont want to mention anything until post- vacation its their first vacation in 10 years. Its a big deal and dont want to spoil it so I have about 3 weeks to give them a comprehensive plan. Specific questions: 1. What exactly is a short sale and how does it work? Or any options regarding the house.2. About 4,000 month will be freed in 3 months after the day loans are done with- its been a long time coming. Where should this money go first?3. Im probably going to pay the owed sales tax since it can result in jail time or their business being closed they dont put it aside as they should- dont ask me why. 4. How can they ever save with all this debt? Is bankruptcy an option? The only real debt is the house- money owed to friends is verbal of course should be paid back and the money owed to the landlord is negotiable. Working part time really isnt an option- both work from 11 am - 9pm 7 days a week so this is what we have to work with for now. They already cut down on a ton of expenses, including changing POS systems that take way lower percentage so that should help. Any other ideas would be great- they really are simple people. They dont travel, shop, etc so any unexpected areas to save would be great.I should edit: step dad is an ex cop from a different country so no state gov benefits apply. Moms degree is also from a foreign country. Edit: Their mortgage also missed so many payments, so many fees, interest etc that theyve been paying for 10 years and only touched 30k. So I find the mortgage worthless at this point but they are saying renting is a waste of money and hat if they give up on this mortgage theyll never own again due to bad credit, no cash age. Edit 2: Restaurant has steadily increased in revenue about 20k a year for 4 years now, roughly makes around 300k gross. Weve had it for 7 years- they first 3 years is where they accumulated most of the debt missed mortgage, missed rent, etc. Before that they owned a different business they closed. Assistant: 3. Im probably going to pay the owed sales tax since it can result in jail time or their business being closed Call the IRS and request a payment plan. Ive been through this, I setup a payment plan with them and paid it off. The IRS doesnt want to throw your parents in jail and they dont want to close down their business. They just want their money. Promise to pay, dont break that promise, and youre family is in the clear. There is a big difference between i screwed up, please let me make it up and shit, you caught me.4. How can they ever save with all this debt?If they make 4kclear you didnt state how much you were funding them monthly and if this is beforeafter your assistance their best bet is getting a property paid off, even if their only option is the property they owe double the value of right now, maybe. Retirement planning is much simpler with a monthly budget of 100-200mo for yearly property taxes than it is for 1200-1500mo for rentmortgage. So even just 1kmo set aside even at 0 interest is a nice oh shit nest egg so they dont have to use those payday loans again. It wont be enough for retirement but hopefully they have a few more good years in them and the business continues that 20kyear growth. So I find the mortgage worthless at this point but they are saying renting is a waste of money and hat if they give up on this mortgage theyll never own again due to bad credit, no cash age.If theyre able to pay those payday loans off and their CC the remaining honor based debt can be paid as a of their available income so it doesnt really matter as far as their financial survival is concerned. The only thing that matters is the rate of money in vs money out which is why a property owned free and clear at retirement is so important. So as far as your parents stance of not wanting to sell their home ... I agree with them with some caveats. The home has the potential to go up while a rental property is and will forever be a money sink where every dollar is on par with being set on fire and gets more expensive every year. So yeah they might owe 170k on a 100k property that people are only offering 40k for ... thats still better than renting unless renting is significantly cheaper like 60-70 cheaper. Youre not just reducing the monthly payment your also reducing sqftabilityeverything. Its a significant life hit that just might not be worth it in the long run.They already cut down on a ton of expenses,Thats good it sounds like your parents have genuinely been trying to succeed and youve done your great share by helping them out. Based on my understanding I think that once the payday loans are gone they wont actually need your money to survive so you can have a guilt free conversation after the vacation about how since thats being paid off in a few months your support will stop as well because your family needs it, college isnt getting any cheaper and you need to save for your own kids. A good time tested excuse for this kinda thing.Human: Thank you for this response! My parents has the same IRS issue before and did a payment plan- I wonder how flexible the IRS will be with this being an issue twice. They currently after business, loans and bare minimum personal expenses theyre generally a thousand or so behind which I help with. If three months theyll have 4Kmonth available post business personal expenses thankfully. Thatll be money they havent seen in a while since the loan has been automatically deducting it. Regarding the mortgage. I definitely agree with your perspective. Thank you for that outlook.  <response>: If you pay IRS and they have the extra 4kmonth, they can pay off the debt to friends without your help in about year. That leaves them with 4k and whatever else they have per month. They could theoretically pay off the house in another 3-4 years if they stay living super cheap. So thats about 5 years from now. Work another 5 years and save 30kyear or so, and they have 150k in savings, a business they can sell, a fully owned home, and can start social security. Alternatively, they could continue workingwait on SS, and save even more. 