<prompt> Human: Hi Reddit!I found out recently that my parents are in debt and desperately in need of help. I am incredibly worried about their financial situation and dont know where to go from here.They have not made the best financial decisions over the years and have very little saved up for retirement. The details: My 61 year old dad is currently working and earns 50,000 gross annually. He was hoping to retire within four years when the mortgage will be paid off but only has 10,000 in RRSP saved up My 64 year old mom retired at the age of 60 and is relying on CPP and investment income averaging 15,000 per year from the principal of her pension. There is virtually nothing in their joint chequing and savings account 15,000 in outstanding credit card bills An outstanding 90,000 mortgage A nearly maxed out 65,000 LOC my mom says this is the only account but my dad and I have reason to believe there are additional LOCs They are spending more than they are making by at least 1,000 per month Some items they have spent on I feel are unnecessary: They spend 65month on lottery tickets They bought a 27,000 brand new car for me as a graduation gift and were making monthly payments. I took over the payments when I learned the severity of their financial situation and am in the process of selling the car My mom spends 300month on dining out excluding times they pay for others My mom is in charge of paying the bills and maintaining the accounts, but she clearly doesnt track if and how much they are overspending by I think she just shuffles the debt around between the LOCs and credit cards I used to pitch in 1,200month but stopped since my mom gave me no financial details when askedWhen I approached my parents about their finances, my mom said we were doing fine and my dad was unsure where we stood. We sat down together to confirm how they were doing financially and were appalled by what we found out see above. When I drew up a budget to cut expenses my dad was open to making cuts on his end but mom gave no concessions and promptly walked out of the room.I feel that my dad is onboard with trimming expenses and is content with working past his planned retirement age to chip away at the debt. My mom, not so much. In fact my mom spent an additional 600 on furniture we already have and dont need the day we drew up a budget. She is a little proud and stubborn, and will not take no for an answer. She also wont give up on reducing ridiculous amounts spent on lottery tickets each month. I feel that my moms concept of house ownership is delusional since she thinks we can suck the equity out of it unlike the less fortunate renters who have no equity to rely on.How can I get my parents out of this rut and repay their debt? I feel the first task at hand is to reduce spending, but how do I change my moms mindset? I have considered suggesting to them to sell their current two-bedroom townhouse and move to a one-bedroom condo but I am unsure at this point if the benefits of downsizing outweigh the moving costs. Also whats to stop my mom from saving enough after the move? What other options do we have?All this is stressing me out.Any financial advice or suggestions on what to do would be greatly appreciated! Thank you, Reddit! :  <response>: Youre going to need at least one of them fully on board to make any useful headway here, and it sounds like your dad is more promising. On the other hand, it also sounds like hes spent decades with head in the sand.Can you maybe find an elder law lawyer with financial experrtise to sit down with your dad, go over everything your dad actually knows and what he might not know, and maybe give your dad an educated opinion about what kind of worst case scenarios theyre looking at, as well as what changes would realistically be enough to make a difference at this point? I mean, I agree with you that 65 on lottery tickets every month is ridiculous, but it sounds like it will take a lot more than that make a dent.I doubt your dad can make your mom do anything, but possibly with support he could disentangle himself from her financially enough to at least preserve some kind of lifeboat that he could very carefully share with her, if need came to that. That might involve a legal separation or even a divorce, but it could really be best for both of them and maybe have a chance to wake your mother up a bit. They could be divorcedseparated and still live together, but your dad might benefit from some way to keep his financesdebts separate.Anyway, give it your best shot, bring in some heavy guns whom they never saw in diapers, and work on accepting that this is ultimately not your problem because its really not in your power to change these two people.Good luck! 