I really enjoy getting a chance to interview each woman who shares her Home Economics. Sometimes during the call, I’ll think, “We would totally be friends if we lived in the same city!” But even if we have completely different lives, I always find a thing or two in their stories that I can relate to. And after we publish, I love to see how readers respond. Inevitably a commenter will pick up on something I missed or have a smart question I didn’t think to ask.
It’s sort of funny to spend 30 minutes with someone having a fairly intimate conversation about their finances and then never hear from them again. So you could say this story is a bit selfish, because I genuinely wanted to check in and see where these women are now.
I sent out a mass email last Friday, and I heard back from 17 writers! And every one had an interesting update to share! I was planning to publish them all in one massive post, but in the midst of editing, I realized how overwhelming that would be for you! (Not to mention me and Alicia trying to edit all the entries!)
So consider the first of a new (limited) series where we check in with past Home Ec writers. We’ll roll out the rest over the coming weeks. And if you want to share your Home Economics, fill out this form!
Home Economics No. 4: Divorced, 63, and living in Colorado with $50,000 in retirement savings
Lindsey Stanberry
What has changed in your life (financial or other) since you published your Home Ec?
It’s been almost exactly two years since I was featured in Home Economics, and I’ve continued to read each and every edition. (I think they are terrific.) I also definitely have the sense that I was—and continue to be—at the lower economic end of the spectrum covered in these profiles.
I am sorry to report that my financial situation hasn’t improved and has instead become more precarious. Here are a few of the challenges I’ve experienced in the past couple of years:
- I have first-hand experience in the opportunity cost of caregiving. My mom, who is now 91, was diagnosed with end-stage hip arthritis. Due to severe pain, her mobility deteriorated to the point that she could not bear weight, which means she couldn’t stand or drive, and she couldn’t even sleep without pain, despite taking pain medication. She was still living independently at home, but I made that possible by stepping in as her caregiver. She has less than $20,000 in retirement savings, and she lives on $2,100 a month in Social Security. There were no other options for caregiving as neither she nor I have the financial resources to hire outside help. Two months ago, she finally had a total hip replacement surgery, and I moved in with her temporarily to help her recover. Today she is living completely independently and is even able to drive again. I don’t begrudge helping her! It was a privilege for me to be able to help her, and it was the right thing to do. At the same time, there was a real opportunity cost, because I couldn’t work during much of the time I was helping her. I had to draw down my retirement savings to keep my bills paid. I envy my affluent peers with the resources to hire help to keep aging relatives living independently.
- I’m still paying down my mortgage, which, according to my amortization schedule, won’t be paid off until I am 91. Meanwhile, my mortgage payment, which was $1,092 when I filled out my Home Economics profile in 2024, has increased to $1,259 due to increases in property taxes and insurance costs. (That’s a 15% increase in two years!)
- One big expense I had over the past two years was repairs on my 22-year-old car. I took out two separate loans, one for $1,368 and one for $3,092 (which of course included interest payments). I am almost finished paying them off. I know people will say, “Just get a new car!” However, with the average used car in the U.S. priced at $26,000 (which I don’t have!) not to mention the increased insurance and registration costs, etc., the most feasible financial choice I have is to keep taking really good care of this car and to keep repairing it as needed.
- For more than two decades I have made my living as a freelance writer. I know not all writers have experienced this, but AI is seriously impacting the freelance writing market. Many people have decided that all they need is a ChatGPT account to write a blog post, a white paper, or even a book. Between AI trends and the opportunity cost of caregiving, my gross income from freelancing dropped 70% from 2024 to 2025.
- Between the downturn in my income and the time spent caregiving, I had to once again draw down my retirement savings to pay my bills. In 2024, I had $51,267 across my Traditional IRA, SEP IRA, and HSA accounts. Today, that amount is down to $17,228.
There is no life without any blessings, so I must also report:
- As I noted above, my mother is doing very well and relishing her independent life again.
- My children are happy, healthy, and successfully adulting.
- I finally aged into Medicare this past fall. As a self-employed person, I have relied on the ACA for health insurance since 2014. The income-based subsidies that went into effect in 2021 and 2022 were essential to my ability to afford the premiums. I turned 65 in September, just before Congress allowed these subsidies to expire. If it weren’t for Medicare, I would no longer be able to afford my health insurance premium, so I am grateful that Medicare is now an option for me.
How was the experience of publishing a Home Ec? What did you learn? Like/dislike?
The Purse has created a really safe space where women can be vulnerable about their finances. I am grateful for that! I believe I’ve read every edition of Home Economics! And I am happy to see that your readers largely follow your instructions to comment with kindness.
I appreciated all of the comments I received on my edition. Most of them were extremely supportive. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to be totally transparent about my finances and to be seen without fear of being judged.
Three reader comments stood out for me:
- Rosie W. commented: “What you said about generational wealth flowing backwards when you’re from an underprivileged background really stuck with me. I’m very much from a privileged background where when the grandparents die, that money often skips the kids’ generation and goes straight to the grandkids, and in turn supports the grandkids in their 20s and 30s when they need it most. I’d never thought about the opposite of that and just how much of an impact that has in terms of generational wealth and families being able to pull themselves out of poverty. Thank you for your candor. It's been an incredibly insightful read.”
I am very grateful that Rosie W. was able to read about the financial experiences of a woman whose life has been very different from her own, and to engage with interest and curiosity rather than judgement. That meant a lot to me.
- Alycia commented: “The writer and her mother both have properties worth almost half a million dollars. That’s not nothing.”
Alycia’s comment was humbling and reminded me that financial privilege is on a spectrum. I feel like I’m closer to the bottom of that spectrum than the top, especially in the context of The Purse readers. But to a person in today’s housing market who doesn’t “own” a home (I put “own” in quotes because the bank still owns mine for the next 25 years!), the fact that I even have a mortgage is an unfathomable and unattainable privilege.
- Finally, Michelle Teheux of the Substack Untrickled wrote: “This is a very much untold story! I bet if we saw this lady, she pulls off the appearance of a middle class or upper middle class very well. I doubt people around her have any idea how close to the edge she's living—people often made comments that told me they assumed my husband and I were living on about four times as much money as we actually were. Not all struggles show.”
Michelle is absolutely correct. I haven’t yet dared to disclose my financial precarity in public (except for anonymously in The Purse, of course!). In this country we equate wealth with competence (the same way we equate beauty with competence). I am still working as a freelance writer, and I fear that if I disclosed my actual financial situation I would be written off as less than competent. I'm afraid it would cost me work. So thank you, Lindsey, for offering women an anonymous space to share the truth about their finances.
Home Economics No. 16: A Stay-at-Home Mom & a Medical Resident with 2 Kids Living on $77k a Year
Lindsey Stanberry
What has changed in your life (financial or other) since you published your Home Ec?
I submitted my entry right after my son was born and I was staying home with him. He just turned two!
We are expecting a lot of changes in 2026, financially and otherwise. My husband is graduating from his residency program and accepted a job as an outpatient psychiatrist in Pennsylvania. This means our income will triple and we will be moving to a new state late summer.
We are also expecting our third baby! I finished my Accredited Financial Counselor certification and have been freelancing and running my own business working with individuals on their personal finances since last January.
How was the experience of publishing a Home Ec? What did you learn? Like/dislike?
Doing the Home Ec was fun! I already keep careful tabs on our finances, but I liked seeing what other people had to say in the comments. Reading others, I do wish there was some sort of follow-up, but looks like you all are thinking something similar!
Home Economics No. 19: A 20-Something Living in L.A. on $72k with $60k in Savings
Lindsey Stanberry
What has changed in your life (financial or other) since you published your Home Ec?
When I first sent in my Home Ec, I felt ambivalent about my finances but overall positive and grateful. Soon after, I started making much more money, as did my partner. And then—such is the freelance life—I fell back to making basically nothing. I lost my nine-to-five and my client in the same month, pretty unexpectedly, and now I don’t even know how much I make. It’s usually somewhere around $2,000 per month or under. My rent is still $1,450, so I'm basically left with just enough to pay for bills, dog food, and necessities.
The only way that I am surviving is from having ample savings and EBT to help me, as well as free health care. I am fully, entirely, 100% a freelance musician and artist now, and photography is really the thing that is buoying me enough to bring in ~$2,000 a month, but still, it is so unpredictable.
But I’ve been in this position for six months now, and haven’t pulled out of my savings to live for the past three (YAY!). I really don’t see a future where I go back to a standard job anytime soon. I’m just trying to make it work and balance out to not completely decimate my savings while still living the life I want to live.
So far, so good. I have learned to spend very, very little in a short amount of time. And what’s crazy is I actually feel more positive than ever about my finances. I know that ups and downs will come, but making less money has made me feel so much less attached to it. Very interesting, coming from a place where I had so much money anxiety but was making so much more consistently.
How was the experience of publishing a Home Ec? What did you learn? Like/dislike?
My experience of publishing a Home Ec was really great. It was good for me to review my finances and also feel so privileged and grateful for what I have, instead of feeling like I was lacking.
The comments on my post were very funny to me, about how if I were to have a child, there is absolutely no way I could make it work—and they’re right. But I still thought it was a little funny how absolute they were about adding a kid to the equation being impossible.
Home Economics No. 32: Single and living on $113,000 in New Orleans
Lindsey Stanberry
What has changed in your life (financial or other) since you published your Home Ec?
The main thing that’s happening right now is I’m moving in with my boyfriend next month! So that will be a financial and life change.
How was the experience of publishing a Home Ec? What did you learn? Like/dislike?
I really liked reading the comments and (mostly) affirmation on my entry. I understand some people were rankled by me being described as single when I had a serious boyfriend. I probably would have been annoyed too in my perpetually single days, LOL. I guess I was thinking about “single” in the IRS way of describing it (and the fact that we didn’t have shared finances). Maybe if you have people like me in the future you could describe us as “partnered?”
Editor’s note: The response to this piece inspired a lot of truly single women to share their stories.
Home Economics No. 35: A family of 4 in Florida who recently received a windfall inheritance
Lindsey Stanberry
What has changed in your life (financial or other) since you published your Home Ec?
Our family life has remained largely unchanged since August 2025, but there have been four recent developments. First, my husband began taking classes for a graduate school certificate. One of the perks of my job is a spousal benefit that allows him to take up to six credit hours (two classes) per semester and receive a tuition waiver.
Second, my husband started working part time as a consultant for a friend’s company. He only works a few hours a week and doesn’t see this as a long-term position, but he’s developing new skills, supporting our friend, and bringing in a little bit of income each month.
Third, I received a raise at work. When I originally submitted my Home Economics entry, I was making about $58,000 per year. Now, I’m making about $63,000 per year.
Fourth (and finally), I made a financial change based on a comment one of your readers made on my entry. (I so appreciated hearing advice from other smart women!) One commenter encouraged me to take out an additional life insurance policy as a financial safeguard while my family is living on one income. I took their advice and now feel a bit more protected during this transitional time.
How was the experience of publishing a Home Ec? What did you learn? Like/dislike?
My experience was entirely positive. I enjoyed speaking with you over the phone, I agreed with the minor edits you made to my submission, and I appreciated the comments and advice I received from your readers. It was useful seeing how different women reacted to my financial choices because I felt they knew a lot of context that made their opinions more informed and specific (as compared to, say, a friend who doesn’t really know the amount of money I have sitting in a savings account that I could be investing instead).
While I haven’t acted on all their suggestions—I'm still a scaredy cat when it comes to investing!—I have reflected on their comments and made one positive change (starting a new life insurance policy). I would definitely recommend this process for anyone who’d like some clarity on their financial status and some kind, generous, and helpful second opinions on their choices.
