Asking for a Raise

Asking your boss for a raise in pay is a waste of valuable time, if he breaks his heart and gives you a few dollars more, you still remain in the poorhouse. The reason that you asked your boss for a raise in the first place is the job sucks, and you are desperate. Don't think that you can survive by dragging out your life on a low paying job by asking for raises. Instead you should start looking for a higher paying job. That's the only way to make more money.
A boss by nature is a greedy person that is only interested in his profits. He loves a bargain and you are it, the longer you work for the same boss, the happier he is. He has a worker that is familiar with every aspect of his operation at little cost, but he still won't give you more than a few bucks even if you got up your courage and asked for a raise. Your boss has lost respect for you; he sees how hard you work for so little pay. He despises your type of person, because he is just the opposite. If he replaced you with a worker that he respects, he would pay much more money for the same work.
Search for another job, but keep your head up and your chest out. Nobody wants to give a high paying job to a desperate person. People that earn big money have an aura about them that says they deserve high pay. Look around you at some of the executives; they have the look and even the smell of money. No boss would dare treat them slovenly. If you look and act like a poor slob, you will get treated like one.
The vast majority of jobs can be handled by most people with some on the job training. There are very few jobs that require that a person has innate abilities. If the interviewer is impressed with you mannerisms, you will get the job and the training to hold it.
Bosses are human, and their judgment of your worth is mainly based on emotion. If your appearance and attitude is positive he doesn't mind parting with the money to give you a decent wage. He feels you are worthy of his respect and will compensate you accordingly.
But if you show him you are hurting, and need the job, you are in trouble. The harder you work the harder your life will become. You will never get more than a small raise, if any. Bosses lose respect for a slavish type of worker. They see you as sub-human and will not throw good money after bad.
We all have to work hard in order to survive, but do it with dignity -- remember your boss is watching you.