Romanticizing the struggling poor. How quaint. But I bet you haven't run the numbers on your backup plan. Yes 20 years ago a person could make a humble living doing such jobs. I recall a lady who got minimum wage working in a daycare center. She had her own apartment with furniture and a used car and was able to go out once in a while.
Today such min wage employers would take one look at you and reject you on sight. They want ONLY the illegals. Over the last 20 years the wages in the lowest quartile have greatly fallen below the cost of living.