I can only imagine that she's not eating a breakfast not because of lack of funds but because her quack doctor told her that drinking sugar water and injecting yourself with steroids is healthier than eating. There are "doctors" like this in the west too.
Wages were not an issue, her knowledge was. She'd regularly buy expensive, overpriced trinkets. Also, she had two older brothers who got priority, so paying her more wouldn't necessarily go to her. She was still living with her parents.