” I don’t think you can make a general statement about what age a person should look for in a prospective spouse. “
Perhaps not as a deadline, but surely as a goal.
Condsider that under 20 is too young (boys AND girls) and mid-30s is kinda late, the middle 20s seem about right for a target.
I’m also working with the premise that the couple expects to meet their own cost of living expenses, and since it takes 5-10 years to reach a point in your carear that you are making a good living, starting younger (but not too young) is better.
Which is not to say, that if you are 26, you should give up. But for someone 19-21, now is the time to start formulating a goal and how you expect to acheive that goal.
People don’t plan to fail.. they fail to plan.