One in three Americans said that money was a crucial factor in their decision to work for pay (or have a spouse work) rather than stay home to raise the children, with Baby Boomer women most likely to have made that choice. Forty-five percent of Baby Boomer women—compared with just 32 percent of those 55 and over—said they went to work. 'Baby Boomer women, especially the older ones, grew up expecting to replicate the pattern of their mothers' lives,' suggests Hochschild. 'But then the bills started coming in and more job opportunities opened up, and these women moved into a life they hadn't anticipated.' Money played a great role in marriage—even an unhappy one. Approximately 18 percent of all those interviewed said they stayed married because they lacked money to get a divorce, while less than 8 percent said that financial strain in their marriage has caused them to divorce. Lack of money also influenced education choices. Nearly one in four Americans has postponed or decided not to attend college because of financial pressures. Even with the sustained prosperity of the past eight years, Gen-Xers were most likely to have altered their college plans. A 39-year-old Hispanic billing clerk in New York spoke about how the need for money limited her teenager son's ability to take part in extracurricular activities that could increase his chances of getting into college. 'Since age 14, my son's been working, and I think he is a superb person. Not having a lot of money has made him realize what work is all about. On the other hand, he was elected to go to a youth leadership conference in Washington, and I can't send him because I don't have the money. Lack of money takes away opportunities he otherwise could have had.' On the question of what money can and can't buy, a large majority of Americans said that money could buy 'freedom to live as you choose', 'excitement in life', and 'less stress'. In a number of follow-up interviews, many people commented that having extra money would immediately alleviate one source of profound stress——the need to work overtime. Those with college and graduate degrees were far more likely to believe that money can buy freedom, perhaps because better-educated people already have a wider array of choices. College-educated professionals, for instance, were much more likely to consider wealth a way of financing travel, starting a business of their own, or funding charitable works in their communities. A 55-year-old Hispanic woman in Los Angeles with a graduate degree and an income of more than＄90,000 described a midlife career switch. After resigning from a high-level, high paying——but extremely stressful—civil service job, she became a florist. 'After I Started tearing my hair out,' she said, 'I decided to go into business for myself—flowers don't talk back.' Can money buy peace of mind? Fifty-two percent of Americans said no. 'It all depends on what 'peace' means to you,' observed a businesswoman in California who is nearing 60 and would like to retire at 62 and go back to college. 'For my husband, peace of mind means working as long as he can and collecting the biggest possible pension. For me, it means knowing I've worked long enough so that I can afford to go after an old dream, I guess you should say that my peace of mind is his worry.' According to the writer, older Baby Boomer women went to work chiefly because ______.