Not every household has the ability to dip into an emergency savings account when finances are tight. When you need extra cash for some type of emergency, you may have to evaluate your alternatives carefully. Of course, you don’t want to cause your long-term finances any problem when you need to borrow money. When you’re looking for ways to borrow money that won’t hurt you years from now, check out these five tips.

1. Borrow from a trusted family member

If you have a family member or even a close friend that is in a better financial position than you, it won’t hurt to ask them to borrow some cash when you’re in a bind. Just remember to get everything down on paper to avoid confusion later. Put together a repayment plan that you both agree upon. In most cases, loved ones won’t charge you interest on a personal loan, so you won’t need to worry about it messing with your finances later on.

2. Borrow from short-term lenders

Short-term lenders are an excellent source for borrowing in a pinch. Consider using same day loans to pay the bills without getting deeper into debt. Most will not check your credit score, and if they do, a bad one won’t necessarily hurt your chances of getting a loan. Only take out the smallest amount you can get by on even if you happen to qualify for more. You don’t want to let repeated loans force you into an unwanted cycle of debt.

3. Take out an advance from your place of employment

If you have been with your employer for enough time, they may just allow you to take out an advance on your paycheck if you need money fast. If the amount you need is larger than your next paycheck, ask about setting up some type of repayment plan until you can pay off the whole amount. This won’t hurt you in the long run, and your company will likely not charge you any type of interest on your loan.

4. Look for peer-to-peer lending groups

While this type of option could be a little more difficult to find, there are peer-to-peer lending groups online that allow you to borrow small amounts of money from others who are willing to lend it to you. Check local social media platforms, especially Facebook, to find groups with trusted members that will help you out with smaller loans. Borrowing from a peer-to-peer group today, you won’t mess up your finances in the long run.

5. Take out a cash advance from your credit card

If you have a credit card, you should be able to take out a small cash advance to get you through your situation. Look for cards with lower APR rates if you go this route. The faster you can pay it back, the better it will be for your bottom line years from now.

For the sake of your finances, it’s crucial only to borrow what you need no matter how you choose to get a loan. Even if you can borrow a larger amount of money from a lender, resist the temptation. This way, you’ll be able to repay the loan quickly without damaging your future financial situation.

When you’ve been trapped in a cycle of poverty for a long time, it’s natural to believe that there’s little that you can do about being broke all the time. But this is an illusion.

Regardless of the reason that you’re broke—insufficient education, a series of low-paying jobs, or a devastating financial setback—you can break out of it.

Here are some ways to put poverty behind you.

Get Out of Debt

Simply trying to pay off your debt one bill at a time doesn’t work well if you’re not earning enough to pay down the balance every month. Most of the money you pay on a debt doesn’t go toward reducing the principal but mainly goes to pay off the higher interest. What’s more, the longer you take to pay off the debt, the more interest compounds, which essentially means that you’re paying interest on your interest.

One way to escape this frustrating cycle of not making much of a dent in your debt is to consolidate your debts. A debt consolidation loan is a loan that is large enough to pay off all your other debts immediately. Because this loan will carry a fixed interest rate rather than the variable interest rate you were paying before, you will reduce your overall interest and debt. You will now owe less. In addition, lenders calculate consolidated loan repayment plans on what you can afford to pay every month, a reckoning based on your estimated monthly income and expenses.

Invest in Possibilities

When we think of investments, we usually think of investing in assets to give us a high return. Following this line of reasoning, it’s possible to think of investing in yourself as a worthwhile asset. You could invest in yourself, for example, by setting goals to achieve something you desire—goals such as increasing your income, finding or enhancing a relationship, or improving your health and well-being. Moving towards these goals with a plan of action will enhance your quality of life, including your ability to make and manage money.

Create Extra Income

If you can’t find a job that pays much or have one that barely covers your monthly expenses, then you can increase your income through a side hustle.

If you can’t find a good side hustle, you can create your own.

If, for instance, you’re a highly creative person, say someone who loves to write, then build a blog or write a book. Instead of waiting for your big break, you could channel your creative energies into making something that would serve as a source of passive income.

If you choose to write a book, it will help you earn royalties. Or, if you’re an expert in something that others would love to learn, then you could create an online course that you can sell over and over again.

Once you’ve created your content, you don’t have to promote or sell it yourself. If you wrote a book, you could hire someone to do the book marketing for you. Or, if you created an online course, you could use an online educational platform that takes care of all the marketing to attract students and all the technical details of delivering your online course through videos.

Believe It’s Possible to Change

A change in attitude will make it possible for you to quit being broke all the time. Believe in yourself and your power to change anything in your life that isn’t working well for you.

Being broke is a condition, not a definition of who you are as a person. Everyone has more potential to change than they realize. By getting rid of debt, investing in your potential to change, and finding novel ways to increase your income, you can prosper.