By contrast, though, wouldn't her living expenses be much less than that of a human sized person? A smaller size means that she needs less material for most goods like food or clothing (with the caveat that maybe more care is taken for producing such things). Similarly, housing or storage expenses would be minimal.
Of course it could very well be the case that the rate at which her mob boss demands payment is greater than a human-sized person's living expenses, but at the very least her protection money isn't on top of what a human would have to pay to stay alive.