1) Broke 2) Desperate 3) Dirt-poor 4) Financially strapped 5) Firm in profit short of cash 6) Impecunious 7) Impoverished 8) Impoverished and then some 9) In dire need 10) In great need 11) Indigent 12) Lacking funds 13) Lacking much money 14) Low on cash 15) On the dole 16) Out at the elbows 17) Poor Found on https://www.crosswordclues.com/clue/hard-up