How to Make Money Fast
Need a little extra cash in a hurry? Follow these steps and you're bound to have a fuller pocket by the end of the week. It may not be much, and it may not be reliable, but your options are limited if you're short on time. Later, you can read up on long-term ways to make money, reducing expenses, saving, and investing. Otherwise, hurry up and follow these steps so you can make money ASAP!
Steps
- Consider day labor. There are employment agencies that specialize in this type of arrangement, and you can get paid at the end of the workday. The jobs you find through an agency can vary, but are usually in construction, factories, offices, and manufacturing. An alternative to finding day labor is to go where other day laborers meet (usually street corners or parking lots) and wait for employers (building contractors, landscapers, home owners and small business owners).
- If you go the non-agency route, you might get paid in cash.
- You can also check your local newspaper or internet classifieds to find quick labor gigs, like painting, mowing, or moving work. When considering a day labor opportunity, keep in mind that less formal arrangements could result in you not getting paid or worse, you getting injured without any kind of compensation.
- Don't be shy about doing odd jobs. Lawn mowing, babysitting, hedge trimming and decluttering can all serve as quick ways of getting cash.
- Sell something. Dig out that old guitar you never play, those CDs you don't listen to anymore, or your antique toy collection. Go to the pawnshop, put an ad on local internet classifieds, or hold a yard sale in front of your house or on a busy street corner (just display the item with a big sign announcing the ridiculously low price). Price items at half of what somebody would be able to buy them for anywhere else, and you may be able to sell them within an hour or two.
- You can also sell items online at auction websites like eBay, or more generalist sites like Amazon. Choose a fast end time for the auction or trade, or choose "buy it now" to encourage a swift turnaround.
- Make something to sell. If you're a dab hand at making something quickly that people want, do so and sell it either online (sites like Etsy are great for handmade goodies) or at local craft fairs or other community-based sales.
- In some places, you can sell things walking about the roadside. Entrepreneurial sorts sell things like cold drinks on hot days or hot nuts in winter. But it can be dangerous work and it may be illegal, so check the laws and watch the traffic with great care. A safer option is a roadside stall, where people have to park the car and come and see your wares.
- Become a street performer. If you can dance, play music, mime, sing, or tell jokes, you can probably get some cash by performing in public. But don't do this unless you are actually good at it. Put together a good act and find a place to perform. Give people a dose of live entertainment, and hopefully they'll reward you with tips.
- If there is a group of you trying to find quick money, put together a quick skit for a bit of street theater.
- Sometimes you can combine something for free with a request for a donation "as wished". For example, give out free hugs but suggest to people that a donation would be appreciated. Don't push it though!
- Always check the bylaws before performing in a public space.
- Panhandle. A panhandler is a person who depends on the spontaneous charity of strangers for their survival. If you really need the cash, you might swallow your pride and decide to ask for help. Make a sign, find a good location, ask politely for money, and say thank you. A sign that is witty or details something interesting is more likely to have people stop and help than one filled with a litany of complaints about being down and out.
- Cyberbegging is becoming increasingly popular, and there have been some amazing success stories, but these are the exception rather than the rule. While there are some sites on which you can beg just by putting up a brief ad, if you're looking to make any substantial money you'll probably have to build your own site and invest the time and money into it to make it successful. Moreover, cyberbegging really annoys some people and you may get bad social media feedback.
- Be sure that panhandling or begging is permissible where you live.
- "Donate" plasma. Plasma is a component of blood, and the process is similar to donating blood. You're not permitted to actually sell your plasma, but you can be compensated for your time spent donating (and essentially, it's like selling your plasma). Your blood is drawn, the plasma is separated, and the red blood cells are returned to your body. In the United States, you can make US$20-30 per visit and give plasma twice a week, but you must weigh at least 110 pounds, be between the ages of 18 and 59, and be in good health. Many college students do this to make extra cash. If you haven't been to the doctor in a while, this may be a good way to get a free health checkup.
- Recycle. Broke because you bought too much soda? Turn the old cans into cash by bringing them in to be recycled. If you don't have your own cans, go looking for them in trash cans or along busy roads, especially rural roads. Call up several recyclers to compare prices. If you live in a state with a bottle or can deposit system, you may be able to get 5 or 10 US cents per container. Other scrap metals are also worth something, so if you've got a big pile of scrap in your backyard or you know of an illegal dumpsite, you can pick it up in your truck and anywhere from 1 or 2 cents per pound for scrap steel to considerably more for metals such as copper or aluminum.
- Open a lemonade stand. Especially if you're a kid, a lemonade stand or baked goods stand can bring in good money in one day. If the lemonade isn't selling, or you want to diversify, sell cookies and brownies as well. The important thing here is to find a good location, like the main entrance to an apartment building, outside a shopping center, on a busy corner near your house, or outside one of your parents' workplaces (if you're a kid; otherwise you might get in trouble).
- Enter sweepstakes. By choosing sweepstakes carefully, you can increase your likelihood of hitting the jackpot (or at least getting a few useful freebies that you can sell, as mentioned above). Search the internet––there are even internet databases, some free and some by subscription only, that can clue you in to hundreds or thousands of sweepstakes. Sweepstakes with smaller prizes can be great because you generally have a more realistic chance of winning. Don't, however, waste your time entering a sweepstakes for a prize you don't want and can't easily sell for a good profit. Enter as many times as possible. The more times you enter, the better your odds. It's as simple as that. Before you send in a million entries, however, make sure you know how many entries the rules allow you.
- Become a moving advertisement. Creative marketing companies might be willing to pay you to get their name out there. Some interesting strategies that people have gotten paid for:
- Turning their car into a moving advertisement; there are companies with bumper sticker programs as well.
- Wearing t-shirts, clothes, costumes that advertise a business.
- Temporary tattoos on the forehead, a pregnant belly, and other parts of the body.
- Work online. There are numerous online work options. Be very careful about what is expected of you though and be very wary if there is a need to pay for anything up front. Realize that a lot of online work is tedious, pays poorly and may not result in fast returns of cash for you. As far as "quick" options go, this one may not be your best choice. Possible ways to make money online include:
- Blogging about products (but getting endorsed to do this can take months of hard work)
- Filling out online surveys in your region
- Amazon Mechanical Turk (this one is considered reliable but the pay is low)
- Trading online (you need to know what you're doing!)
- Possibly through affiliate marketing but be very careful to use reputable and reliable schemes
- Coming up with something wild that people want to donate to you for, such as adding their signature or image to a website page you've created, etc. In this case, spend a lot of effort on making it go viral so that you get fast results.
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Tips
- Any scheme that suggests you will make money fast should be very carefully scrutinized before you involve yourself. Don't spend money to get money on such schemes; if you haven't got much money right now, keep it to put food on the table or you may never see its worth again.
- Raid every part of your house where you are likely to have stashed money––money boxes, coat pockets, jean pockets, spare bags, vacation bags, down the back of the couch, underneath furniture, in jars stashed at the back of the cupboard, etc. Think! It may be possible that there are lots of coins that can be discovered and they might even be enough to cover a grocery run or night out.
- Rent out a room in your home. Do you have a spare room or granny flat that isn't needed? People are always looking for affordable accommodations and this could be a quick return of money. Consider either long-term or vacation rental options, depending on the season and your needs.
- Consider taking up dog walking. People who own dogs but who are too busy to walk them will appreciate the chance to have the dogs walked. Be professional, make up a flyer and start door knocking or leaflet dropping. Use your cell phone for contact; that way you can get the calls no matter where you are trying to raise money!
- Did you buy tickets to a big event some time away? Consider selling them. Avoid scalping them though; they must be sold legally, which either means at cost or check the terms and conditions to see if they allow sales at what the market is prepared to pay. Another option is to return items you haven't used yet but bought recently. You'll get over it!
- If you're taking on a part-time position, get one that gives tips so that you get immediate cash from the first day. It can be a long wait until that first pay otherwise.
- If you have a prime car park spot but you're not using, consider renting it to someone who needs it. You can earn good cash this way.
- Have you got what it takes to tutor from home? If it's the season for desperation prior to exams, perhaps you can key in on this stress, help a few people pass their exams and make a sweet pot of money all at once. Advertise online, on bulletin boards and on street boards or posts. Go to campuses and find their bulletin boards and pin up your offer. Make it even more enticing by offering a free cup of coffee with every tutoring session!
- If you have life insurance, you may be able to access some of it. Speak to a representative responsible for your policy.
- Totally destitute? Seek emergency assistance from a reputable charity. Or, seek a payday loan but only on the understanding that these can be a vicious cycle, with high interest unless you pay it back promptly; don't do it if you cannot pay it back next week. Perhaps ask your employer for an advance; it will be cheaper.
- Don't forget to check your credit card rewards. There may be vouchers to claim that can cover things you need to get.
Warnings
- Make sure that whatever you're doing does not violate any local laws or regulations.
- If going the day laborer route, keep in mind that there is animus against these types of workers, namely illegal aliens (or illegal immigrants if you're in a jurisdiction outside of the US).
- If you are going to sell something, set a price that will ensure a sale. Don't set it too high or nobody will buy; equally, don't set it too low, or else you won't be able to make a decent amount of money (an exception to this is if you are seriously desperate). For example, a cup of lemonade would be too expensive at $2.00, but if you slash that price into quarters (about $1.00), it would be reasonable.
- While gambling is an option, it's also likely to be a very big losing one. If you have so few funds that you're not sure where the next meal or bus fare is coming from, skip this option totally. And even if you do opt for it, keep aside all money needed for bills, rent and food and play for very low stakes.
- Article farm sites are not a good quick money option. They're poorly regarded (so they won't improve your writing reputation) and they're slow to pay (usually at the end of the month) and you often need to have a certain amount of reads per article to get any payment. Moreover, the rate of return is generally lousy.
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Sources and Citations
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