Keep your head above water

Meaning

To cope with a difficult situation, usually involving too much work or financial stress. It means doing just enough to avoid drowning in your problems.

Stressed, pragmatic

Used in a sentence

• I am working sixty hours a week just to keep my head above water.
• Between the mortgage and the tuition, it is hard to keep your head above water.
• She managed to keep her head above water despite the massive workload.