I am probably considered one of those women that doesn't have to work. When I started working my kid's were finally in school and it was when prices really started skyrocketing and hubby had a much lower paying job. We probably fit into the low income level and could have gotten a lot of government aid however we chose not to. A couple of months later hubby got a new job and got a large raise. A lot of people think we are wealthier than we are because our kids have/are attended private school and we have a nice house, etc. We are far from wealthy but we make other choices that many don't. Nobody in my house has a smartphone or anything like that (no data packages at all). Nobody owns an electronic that starts with I-.

I know T has struggled financially as she is a single mother. She works 3 jobs still. She could retire this summer. She will cut back hours but will not stop working. Not so much because she has to work but because she is a workaholic and just couldn't do it.