Prior to 1760, at least half of the population of the British Isles earned no wages at all.  Those who did get to handle money in exchange for their services were quite often given a payment or stipend for some particular task.

By no means was a regular weekly or monthly wage guaranteed.  Those who went to work for the government frequently did get an annual wage of a few pounds sterling, but otherwise money was very scarce, and the lucky beggar who happened to lay his hands on a coin of almost any denomination would find his standard of living substantially improved for the short period of time the money lasted.

Many persons, notably those attached to the clergy or those apprenticed to master craftsmen under the old guild system, were "paid" for their services in room and board - and that was all. 

They felt fortunate to have it, together with the professional training such a position provided - but not until they advanced to positions of trust or mastery after many years, did they earn anything like a money wage.

One enormous fact must be kept in mind.  Not only was cash money scarce, but (as a result) its purchasing power was high.

Consider that a man of the lower classes prior to 1760 who might have acquired or earned a penny, was in a position to purchase room and board from a roadside inn for as long as a week!

A British penny of course was not the equivalent of a modern American cent.  It was in fact a large coin, and the thrifty British further divided it into half-pennies, and even into farthings (fourths).

Nor did room and board at an inn mean a private room, maid service, and three meals a day.  Rather it meant that the lucky purchaser would get to sleep on the floor in the common room, packed in with a dozen or more others in similar circumstances and condition.

There would be no furniture at all, and certainly no maid service, clean sheets and towels, or even a bath - but there would be a dying fire in the fireplace for some warmth, and a roof overhead to keep off the rain or snow.  Definitely an improvement to sleeping under a bush or in some corner behind a stairway in a large town.

Meals would consist of a single meal at noon, featuring a chunk of coarse bread and perhaps a bit of fish or bowl of watery gruel.  If the innkeeper were of a generous nature, he might on a Sunday or other feast day treat his penny-spenders with a slice of goose or roast pig - not affluence by any means, but a far cry from zero.

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