Was there no hardship exception where you were? That’s unreal. I’m pretty sure they asked at the beginning of the selection process when I served if anyone needed to be dismissed for financial hardship. I think they even used not being able to pay for food as an example of what meets the threshold for an actual hardship.
My trial ended up lasting about 3 weeks and I want to say my check was around $115 and included “mileage”… Lol. I was unemployed at the time, otherwise I would have been pissed. Definitely not doable for a lot of people.