We've only been dating about six months, but I've gotten to know her pretty well and have gathered that she has a net wealth of zero dollars, nada, nothing. While she does have possessions, she rents an apartment, lives paycheck to paycheck, and still owes several thousand dollars on her car. She does not have any kind of retirement account. Her net worth as far as I can tell is either slightly negative or no more than $5000 at the absolute max, and I cannot see any way her financial situation will change significantly in the next few years.
First off, this seems like a huge red flag to me, so much so that I have basically reasoned this girl is not marriage material as she will likely drain me financially and be a parasite. I like her well, but I can't help myself from wondering how the hell someone lives their life like that. I would be terrified.
Second, assuming she doesn't find some man to latch onto, is she totally screwed? The general rule is to have a retirement fund worth two years of your gross earnings by age 35. What the heck to people like my gf do once they hit age 65? I'm genuinely baffled.