I earn substantially but unable to save as I have to pay off my mother’s debts

I am a 35-year-old woman employed as a teacher and living with my parents. My younger sister, who is three years younger, recently married a foreigner and moved to Europe. She has just had a baby, is currently unemployed, and depends on her husband abroad.

Therefore, I do not want to burden her with family responsibilities in Vietnam, so I handle my mother’s debts alone. My mother’s gambling habit, rooted in her youth, costs our family several hundred million dong each year.

As I cover these debts, I lack sufficient funds to move out or manage my personal life. We used to live in a house inherited from my paternal grandparents, which would be highly valuable today as it is in the city center.

However, after repeated harassment from debt collectors, my parents were compelled to sell the house quickly. The proceeds were initially saved by my father but were quickly depleted within a year due to my mother’s actions. Despite her lack of family care, my father remains inexplicably fearful of her.

Once, seeing my father distressed, I suggested he consider divorce, but he responded: "You wouldn’t understand, leaving a spouse is not that simple."

At 65, my father still toils as a mechanic, working long hours from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. He also takes on additional odd jobs whenever neighbors need assistance, earning a bit extra. As a child, I attempted to cook in place of my mother, but my father stopped me, explaining: "No one would eat it anyway. I don’t know what time I’ll be home, so I eat wherever I can."

Consequently, our family has not shared a meal together for many years. Everyone simply eats out on their own.

Often, I feel exhausted by my life as I watch friends marry, start families, or even those who are single move out, pursue their interests, and travel. Yet, I remain shackled by familial obligations.

How can I break free from this situation?