But that comment that she made is no excuse to rack up debt. She will surely be living paycheck to paycheck

The problem is that she is longing for the lifestyle she had when she was married.

Alot of women cannot adjust to change quickly

I’m going to go right out there:
Right now in Canada, everyone meets the minimums for a “decent” lifestyle unless they have chosen otherwise or are children living under an abusive roof.

The social safety net in Canada is very, very wide. Minimum wage does not generate a healthy long-term lifestyle, but minimum is also not a long-term wage.

To grab some numbers, in Winnipeg, long-term “living wage” is somewhere between $12-15/hour to maintain a lifestyle that provides healthy choices and some long-term stability. (for single people)

Those numbers are regularly achieved via call center workers, assistant “McManagers” (i.e. retail management), administrative assistants, hair dressers, servers, food prep professionals, etc. Admittedly, it may take a few years to get there, but nobody needs to be “stuck” at minimum wage forever and nobody needs to live unhealthy lifestyles if they can perform long-term in one of these positions (24k to 30k annually).

In Canada, the ability to work productively for 35-40 hours should provide you with enough income for a healthy lifestyle and the ability to raise children. If you are unable to work full-time, government funding provides an adequate buffer in basically every major Canadian city. Living in rural areas and / or reserves may cause current funding levels to results in a “sub-standard” (read unhealthy) lifestyle, but that’s really a separate issue unto itself.