Possible Clues:

• ___ out (gets with difficulty)
• Manages to get, with 'out'
• ___ out a living (barely manages to survive)
• Manages to get, with "out"
• Makes a living laboriously (with "out")
• ___ out (barely achieves)
• Meagerly manages (with "out")
• Scrapes together (with "out")
• Just manages, with ''by''
• __ out: barely gets