eking it out

No, that doesnt mean that I saw a mouse and jumped up on a chair (eek!), it means that I eke it out from payday to payday and bill to bill this summer.
I dont know where the word 'eke' comes from, looks kind of Greek (it is Greek to eke?). My workplace changed the bonus structure which used to give me some nice paydays when things are going well. Now, its pretty much always just hourly wage and maybe a little gravy, but nothing great. The corporate overlords hired some guy to 'increase profitability', translation: Raise prices, lower wages, customers pay more, the highest honchos make more, and the workers make less. I like where I work for the most part, but losing 10% of income after 3 years of being the best guy in my job makes me feel like I need surgery to get the corporate shoe out of my rectum.
I had some hopes to get paid for helping a buddy with a company to become more profitable too, in that case, just by getting more business and organizing the details so it got done and more money was coming in. However, his lack of organization, which is the prime reason he needs a focused sales/admin guy like me, resulted in my not getting paid after numerous hours of work and some cash invested on my part.
Hence, just paid rent in full 3 weeks late, behind in payments to bank and utilities, unable to repay a personal loan or have anything left over for 'fun stuff'.
  EKE!

On personal, positive side, my live-in gal is great to get along with, and she has found a decent job after 2 months of hard job search, meanwhile keeping the house, laundry etc. in much better shape and earning the total adulation of my aging dog (whose unpredictable sphincter we need not discuss).  Its a change for me to have somebody around all the time, but we both like to do our own stuff on the computers, read, watch tube, etc.  so we dont cling or get in each others way.  We even sleep together without grouchiness when its stinky hot up in our bedroom. Once 2 paycheques are coming in, the eking will be easier to eke.