This TED Talk features author, entrepreneur, and aging solutions advocate Elizabeth White, recorded live at TEDxVCU 2017.

You know me. I am in your friendship circle hidden in plain sight. My clothes are still impeccable,

bought in the good years when I was still making money.

To look at me, you would not know that my electricity

was cut off last week for non-payment,

or that I meet the eligibility requirements for food stamps.

But if you paid attention,

you would see that sadness in my eyes,

hear that hint of fear in my otherwise self-assured voice.

These days, I'm buying the $1.99 trial-sized jug of tied to make ends meet.

I bet you didn't know laundry detergent came in that size.

You invite me to the same expensive restaurants the two of us have always enjoyed,

but I order mineral water now with a twist of lemon, not the $12 glass of Chardonnay.

I am frugal in my menu choices, meticulous.

I count every penny in my head.

I demurred dividing the table bill

evenly to cover desserts and designer coffees and second and third glasses of wine I did not

consume. I am tired of trying to fake appearances. A friend told me that I'm broke, not poor, and there is a difference.

I live without cable, my gym membership, and nail appointments.

I've discovered I can do my own hair.

There is no retirement savings, no nest egg.

I exhausted that long ago.

...