Look for Cash

We'll assume that you won't win the Powerball lottery anytime soon and that your rich aunt Dottie, dog-lover that she is, will bequeath her fortune to the Pekinese Preservation Program. So what other ways can you make ends meet?

Boost your income. Working more hours, adding a second job, or asking for a raise are all time-honored ways of earning yourself out of a financial bind or freeing up more money for debt repayment plans.

Then again, you may need to find a better job—particularly if you have a history of “underearning,” or working for wages that are substantially less than what your education and experience should command. Some people get trapped in low-paying jobs because they really can't find anything better, but others ...

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