$12 an hour is how much a year. That’s not too bad, but then you need to consider the cost of living in your area and whether or not that wage would be enough for food, housing, transportation costs and other necessities like healthcare. If it doesn’t sound like something you can live on comfortably without some help from public assistance programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), there are still steps you can take now to increase your income over time. One way could be by getting more training in a skill-based trade so that after two years of apprenticeship/training with no salary, if all goes well, you will have increased earning potential because of higher skills than before. Another option is investing some money