Learn English – An adjective for something that is not as well-known as it should be

I suggest hard-won, though this is not noticeably any better than hard-gained or hard-earned.

Note however that hardly should not be employed. Hardly usually means “just barely” or “almost not” rather than “with difficulty”. It is therefore conventional with participles to employ hard-, hyphenated, to express the meaning “with difficulty”.

One adjective that may work:

entitled
adjective
believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.
"kids who feel so entitled and think the world will revolve around them"

^{Source: Google define operation on entitled}

This describes someone who thinks they deserve something. It can be money or other things.

If someone is always looking for a way to get something, we might say they are opportunistic.

opportunist
noun
a person who takes advantage of opportunities as and when they arise, regardless of planning or principle.
"most burglaries are committed by casual opportunists"

opportunistic
adjective
"the calculating and opportunist politician"

^{Source: Google define operation on opportunist}