Weather or not I wil have anything to read or not if FR were to shut down does not change my budget. I (and I’m sure others here) have zero wiggle room and it is only going to get worse.
Perhaps I’m just lucky, but although I am also on a fixed (retired) income, if I need something extra, I do something extra to generate more income. It might be some babysitting, holding a yard sale, or maybe selling some (gently read) books on amazon. Sometimes I get a nice little freelance writing contract—if I look for one. I wouldn’t waste my time or anyone else’s making excuses for why I can’t do something, when with the same effort, I might actually find a way to make it possible. But that’s me, and you’re you. Everyone’s different, with different priorities.