I can tell you what is a really, really bad idea financially, and that's to marry an actor.
How we make ends meet - luckily his acting is also a day job (pays peanuts, but it's regular peanuts). And I do supply teaching, storytelling, run workshops and do whatever I can to pull in more pennies. About to join him for a week at his day job (living history museum) where I will be acting for even smaller peanuts but it's school half term so hey, it's work.
So to take the opposite point of view, a folkie should aim to marry someone with a good regular income and that would probably help a lot.