> To clarify, you're saying no one earning less than 4x typical wages should be in a relationship. Did you date much in high school?

Couldn't get girls to look at me, much less date me in high school. And whatever amount of money you need to make is determined by the women you are trying to attract. I don't make the rules there but its on you to demonstrate your value to your potential partner in a way they can understand.

> So married couples who've hit hard times should do what, divorce and send the kids to foster care?

the original question proposed that you were single at the time. If you're already in a relationship and have responsibilities (ie: kids) that's different. You obviously can't abdicate preexisting responsibilities and I'm not suggesting that anyone do such a thing.

> Is it your opinion that there is an abundance of high paying jobs that accept degrees and certs from the University Of Sucked It Up And Educated Self?

why are you waiting for a high paying job? you should be focusing on developing a high earning skill. spend a few hours a day learning to code or maintaining linux boxes. you can get a minisforum pc for as little as $400 (I'm typing on it as we speak). coding isn't your thing? hop on fiverr and figure out what jobs are in demand. a lot of software like onshape is free to learn and plenty of places will hire you to use it. you won't make much money but you'll pickup useful skills that develop overtime. Hell I saw
a youtube interview of a guy in his 20's making 10k MMR washing windows for clients he met going door to door. I'm not badass enough to do that but I'm not hungry enough to do it either.

If you are living in america, you're already setup with advantages that can put you ahead if you take advantage of them. using square or stripe, you can easily charge cards. through the internet, you can advertise services to people. you have cheap banking to store your money safely. getting an LLC means you can write off business expenses instead of paying taxes on them. hell, we have community colleges if you want to invest time in getting ahead.

In a perfect world, we'd have a safety net that subsidizes people who want to move up but you have to live in the world as it is. I had a minimum wage job in my 20's. At some point, something clicked and realized I would need to change something radically if I wanted to not be doing that for the rest of my life. So I stopped drinking with my coworkers and started spending my money on books instead. I would go to the cafe and practice web development. eventually I found a guy on linkedin who paid me $200 per gig on some small jobs. it wasn't much but it was enough to start getting some experience. eventually I got a fulltime job paying a salary maintaining websites. It wasn't much but it was enough that I was able to keep a consistent schedule. I kept studying and saved money for 4 years while sharing an apartment to save money. I did't eat meat. just rice, beans and veggies, cooked ahead of time.

with all that cash over 4 years, I sold off everything and flew to san francisco to do a coding bootcamp. finally after years of hard work, I could afford a descent place and wear nice clothes and I met my first girlfriend shortly after.

so I reiterate. if you're single and living paycheck to paycheck. GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER before you think about getting into a relationship.