Takeaways
- Earning cash quickly can be as simple as being creative with your resources and skillsets.
- Preparing in advance for cash-only situations can curb spending.
- If you don’t have access to cash, start saving for an emergency fund.
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Find yourself in need of cash fast? If you are facing an emergency, the first place you can turn to is your emergency fund, or if it is just a cash-only situation your slush fund. But if you don't have an emergency or slush fund, there are plenty of ways to find cash fast.
12 Fast Cash Ideas
While you probably want to keep your day job, these suggestions can help put cash in your pocket in a matter of hours. Some jobs will take longer than others, so focus on how much cash you need immediately. Here are twelve ideas to earn income quickly:
1. Sell Used Electronics
It’s time to rummage through your closets and around your house for gently used or newish electronics. You can sell old computers, cell phones, gaming systems, or televisions to local electronic stores, or try selling your used phones or tablets on websites like Gazelle or Swappa. For more immediate cash you can try ecoATM kiosks.
on Upwork’s Website
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2. Sell Furniture
After you have exhausted your electronics, or if you can’t find anything to sell, turn to your unused or gently used furniture. Do you need that lamp, books shelf, coffee table, dresser, or table? If any of these items have worn out their shelf life, try selling furniture for cash on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. You might be surprised how quickly, with the right picture quality, your used or unwanted furniture can make someone else’s day and convert into cash for you.
3. Get a Credit Card Cash Advance
Unless you have an emergency fund set aside, getting an immediate lump sum of cash can be difficult. But if you have a high credit score and have been making regular payments on your credit card, you can probably easily get a cash advance.
A cash advance is a preauthorized short-term loan from your credit card company. Like everything with your credit card company, you may incur fees and must pay off your cash advance. A cash advance can be a quick and easy solution, but if you want to avoid fees and interest, there are other options.
Smart Tip:
As credit cards become more pervasive, it can be easy to forget the importance of carrying cash or a debit card. If you want to reduce your spending, try putting $100 in your wallet, financial psychologists have found that carrying around $100 decreases your rate of spending1.
4. Sell Jewelry
Have any gold or silver pieces lying around? Think carefully about what jewelry you are willing to sell. Don’t pawn grandma’s wedding ring or family heirloom without exploring other alternatives first. You want to make money and minimize regret. So, start with jewelry – necklaces, watches, earrings, bracelets – that you genuinely don’t wear or don’t like (maybe gifted by an old boyfriend or girlfriend).
Collect the jewelry you are willing to sell and put your jewelry online or through local thrift shops, pawn shops, or jewelry stores.
5. Sell Old Clothes
Liquidating your wardrobe might be a perfect solution to several problems. First, you can convert your clothes to cash. If you have gently used clothes and a sense of style, you can easily sell your clothes online. Second, by decluttering your closet you can regain a sense of control over your home and financial life.
There are two quick solutions for selling your clothes. You can start locally and take your clothes to a thrift store. If you have children, you can sell their clothes as well. Alternatively, you can try selling your clothes online through websites like ThredUp or PoshMark.
6. Start Pet Sitting
If you are an animal lover, then pet sitting could be a perfect fit for making some easy money. You can sign up with Rover or Wag and make money from dog walking, boarding, house sitting, or providing daycare service for pets. All you need to do is become a sitter, which is as easy as creating a profile (make sure you use a professional picture), select what services you want to provide, select your availability, and start accepting requests.
Becoming a sitter can be easy money in the short term. Animal watching can also be a great long-term way to start saving enough cash for an emergency fund or slush fund.
Learn More -> Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
7. Be a Babysitter
Parents are constantly looking for reliable and trustworthy babysitters. That someone could be you.
With date nights, work events, or a night out with friends, parents need to know they can leave their children with a babysitter who will put their minds at ease. Babysitting is a tried-and-true way to make a quick buck. If you are good with children and like making money quickly, babysitting could be the solution to your cash problem.
Parents will usually pay you in cash or through a babysitting agency, and you will get paid on the spot with cash or very quickly. You can start locally with friends and family or branch out to babysitting services like SitterCity or Care.
Flexjobs Website
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8. Help With Lawn Maintenance
Look around your neighborhood and see who needs help sprucing up their lawn. If you already have the gear – lawnmower, weedwhacker, edger – then you can start asking if people need help with their lawn. In situations where you need money fast, simply asking if can perform lawn care services for cash might be the best solution.
Your earnings potential per lawn varies based on the lawn’s condition, size, and lawn care maintenance requested. Typically, you can expect anywhere from $40 to over $100 depending on the job.
9. Deliver Food
If the idea of manual labor outside like performing lawn services, doesn’t appeal to you, you can always try delivering food or packages from the comfort of your car. Try making money with DoorDash or Instacart. These websites take some initial work upfront to get started, but once you are approved for delivery services, you can get to work quickly.
10. Convert Change into Cash
Okay, this isn’t technically earning money but it’s a way to convert coins into more digestible forms of payment. Check under your couch cushions or grab your “mall money” jar worth of spare change. Here are quick ways to convert your change:
- Find a Coin Kiosks – Coin Kiosks can be found as standalone kiosks, in a grocery store, or mall. They essentially act as ATMs for converting your coins into cash and charge a small service fee. Depending on the brand, they require different degrees of sorting your change. Some even let you dump your jar full of coins into a slot and do the math for you.
- Go To Your Bank – If you are going to trade in your coins at your local bank, you probably need to sort through all your coins and put them into rolled coins. A bank teller can easily exchange your coins for cash.
- Locate the Nearest Coinstar – With Coinstar, you can turn coins into cash, cryptocurrencies, charity donations, or no-fee eGift cards. All you need to do is locate a Coinstar location near you. Be aware that Coinstar does charge a convenience and transaction fee for converting your coins to cash (except on the no-fee eGift card).
11. Start Using TaskRabbit
Willing to do just about anything for cash? Try becoming a Tasker for TaskRabbit, a website that matches people who need help with a project with Taskers who can help. Projects range from furniture assembly to heavy lifting to yardwork and gardening. You can create a profile, schedule when you want to work, and start working virtually immediately.
12. Drive Lyft or Uber
If you are already set up for driving for Lyft or Uber making a little extra money is as quick as turning on the app and waiting for ride requests. On the other hand, if you don’t have an active account with a rideshare service it might take a couple of days to get the necessary items in place – driver’s license, eligible vehicle, background check – before you start accepting rides.
The good news is that with Lyft or Uber, you can get started instantaneously. Once you get set up, the process is very easy to start making money. Don’t forget to save your extra income in an emergency fund. Resist the urge to spend your newfound income stream.
Smart Summary
There are plenty of ways to increase your income quickly. Whether you need cash quickly to pay for an emergency or find yourself in a cash-only situation, planning to diversify your income streams will help you in almost every scenario. In today’s economy, it has never been easier to set yourself up with multiple income streams, from your day job to moonlighting as a DoorDash deliverer or Uber driver. There are plenty of opportunities to utilize if you need cash fast. Setting the groundwork for those opportunities, creating an emergency fund, and getting your savings account set up are smart money moves.
