When You're In Dire Straits
Late on rent? Can't fill your car with gas to get to work? Assuming all available funds and traditional sources of credit are tapped out, here are 25 ways to raise cash in a few days. Keep in mind, while all of these ideas are legal, some of them are not something we would encourage. From being an Amazon Mechanical Turk to banking your sperm we share WalletPop.com's 25 ideas for raising cash in a hurry, in order of the least to most desperate.
First Up: Desperate Move No. 25
First Up: Desperate Move No. 25
Start Your Own Part-Time
Business From Home
If you want to start a business, you don't have to invest much money to make money. Sometimes you can start a business with next to nothing. Jacob and Susan D'Aniello's pooper scooper business is now a multi-million dollar franchise called DoodyCalls. But in the beginning, it was just them, a bag and a shovel. You might also consider hiring yourself out as a dog walker, errand runner, driver or computer consultant.
' More on Starting Home Biz
Next: Desperate Move No. 24
' More on Starting Home Biz
Next: Desperate Move No. 24
Take A Part-Time Job
With most part-time jobs, it's probably going to be two weeks, at best, before you receive that first paycheck. When you need cash sooner than that, look for jobs that offer immediate money in your pocket, like one that includes tips. Bartending and waiting tables are two tried-and-true examples.
' More Part-Time Tips
Next: Desperate Move No. 23
' More Part-Time Tips
Next: Desperate Move No. 23
APSeek Emergency Assistance
Many charities provide services and items that you would otherwise spend money on, freeing up some dollars to apply to your most pressing needs. Among the most common of these are food banks and open-dining opportunities, help or waiver of utility costs, and clothing and other household essentials.
' More on Seeking Charity
Next: Desperate Move No. 22
' More on Seeking Charity
Next: Desperate Move No. 22
Make Stuff To Sell
Think of the proverbial lemonade stand, but all grown up. When one WalletPop blogger is entirely broke, she'll get out her sewing machine and make her favorite quick project: stuffed geese (made out of thrifted fabric). They sell like crazy on Etsy, an online shop devoted to crafty vendors, and is her go-to plan when the well runs dry and she needs to bring in some quick cash.
' See What Else She Makes
Next: Desperate Move No. 21
' See What Else She Makes
Next: Desperate Move No. 21
Rent Out Your 'Spot'
If you own some prime parking real estate, you could put cash in your pocket and get more exercise by renting out your spot and parking further away. If access to your car is less convenient, perhaps you'll even drive less, saving money on gas, too.
' Example of One Such Deal
Next: Desperate Move No. 20
' Example of One Such Deal
Next: Desperate Move No. 20
Paul Sakuma, APSell Stuff On Craigslist
A good alternative to the yard sale is to make use of Craigslist, a great internet site for buying and selling almost anything legal -- furniture, bicycles, musical equipment, housewares, art, and whatever. Over 40 million people use it every month. It's free and localized, so there is typically no shipping involved.
' Why It's Unlike eBay
Next: Desperate Move No. 19
' Why It's Unlike eBay
Next: Desperate Move No. 19
Do Odd Jobs
Babysitters earn upwards of $10 an hour these days. Offer to sit for friends' kids on Friday or Saturday night. The parents will be only too happy to hand you cash when they return! One complaint of young males is that nobody is likely to hire them to watch their kids. An alternative is to offer to wash cars, mow lawns, weed backyards or haul crap out of the garage, instead.
' More Babysitting Tips
Next: Desperate Move No. 18
' More Babysitting Tips
Next: Desperate Move No. 18
AmazonFind An Online Gig
One valid work-at-home program is Amazon Mechanical Turk, where companies post tasks that machines cannot easily do, but that are relatively simple for humans. You choose an assignment, and, on completion, are credited with payment to your Amazon account. This money can be withdrawn once you accumulate $10.
' More on "Turking"
Next: Desperate Move No. 17
' More on "Turking"
Next: Desperate Move No. 17
Collect Your Change
If you are like most Americans, there is hidden cash throughout your home. It may be underneath your sofa cushions, in little jars or piggy banks, but there is bound to be bounties of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters just waiting for you to unearth them. You may be surprised how much you find and how much all that "small change" is worth.
' Where to Look
Next: Desperate Move No. 16
' Where to Look
Next: Desperate Move No. 16
Janet Hostetter, APReturn Past Purchases
Taking recently purchased items back for cash is really one of the most efficient ways of making quick cash. Not only are you typically able to get your full purchase price back if you have a receipt, but you'll reduce your stuff and pay penance for your spending habit, too.
' One Shopper Reminisces
Next: Desperate Move No. 15
' One Shopper Reminisces
Next: Desperate Move No. 15
Hold A Yard Sale
If you have furniture, electronics, children's items, sports equipment, jewelry, collectibles (in other words, the usual hodgepodge of clutter that most of us once thought we needed to buy), then a yard sale may help you raise some money fast.
' Five Yard Sale Tips
Next: Desperate Move No. 14
' Five Yard Sale Tips
Next: Desperate Move No. 14
Recycle Scrap Metal
One way you can get some quick cash is to sell scrap metal to your local salvage yard or recycling center. One WalletPop blogger's co-worker bought a used camper for just over $600 and took his old one to get scrapped. The scrap value of his camper almost paid for his new camper purchase.
' Legal Ways to Find Some Scrap Metal
Next: Desperate Move No. 13
' Legal Ways to Find Some Scrap Metal
Next: Desperate Move No. 13
Become A Temp
If you show up to work on time, take reasonably short lunch breaks, don't leave too early, and demonstrate even the slightest amount of energy and initiative, chances are that your employers will view you as a God-send. In many cases, they will even offer you permanent employment. And temp jobs can pay really well.
' More Plusses of Temping
Next: Desperate Move No. 12
' More Plusses of Temping
Next: Desperate Move No. 12
APSign Up For Medical Tests
Perhaps your path to wealth is as a medical guinea pig. The National Institutes of Health has 300 studies that need volunteers. Rochester Clinical Research is looking for volunteers to test an Avian Flu vaccine.
' What Else to Consider
Next: Desperate Move No. 11
' What Else to Consider
Next: Desperate Move No. 11
Take In A Boarder
Sharing living expenses can put more cash in your pocket. However, if you ask someone to move into your spare room -- or onto your couch -- draw up a lease agreement, even/especially if your prospective boarder is someone you know.
' One Landlady's Cautionary Tale
Next: Desperate Move No. 10
' One Landlady's Cautionary Tale
Next: Desperate Move No. 10
Tap Your Life Insurance
If you have whole life (a type of insurance you buy to last your "whole" life and your heirs get the payout even if you live to 104), you pay higher premiums, but the insurance has a "cash value" that you can tap any time. All you have to do is call your life insurance company to access the money.
' See Another Way to Cash In
Next: Desperate Move No. 9
' See Another Way to Cash In
Next: Desperate Move No. 9
Susanna Frohman, San Jose Mercury News / KRTGet A Payday Loan
If you're responsible with your money and know that you're facing less than two weeks of a cash shortfall, borrowing $300 today in return for repaying $345 in two weeks may be a good idea. If you're the sort of person who has a continual spending or money management problem, this is the dumbest thing you could possibly do.
' More on Payday Loans
Next: Desperate Move No. 8
' More on Payday Loans
Next: Desperate Move No. 8
Joe Raedle, Getty ImagesRaid Your IRA
If you need quick cash, your retirement savings can look like a great place to find the lump sum you need, but tread carefully. There are lots of rules and if you don't qualify for an eligible withdrawal you'll have to pay a 10% penalty plus taxes on the money at your current income tax rate.
' How to Tap Your IRA Penalty-Free
Next: Desperate Move No. 7
' How to Tap Your IRA Penalty-Free
Next: Desperate Move No. 7
APPawn Your Stuff
Pawnshops work like this: you offer up your prized possessions as collateral on a loan; in most cases, the loan will be about 10% of the actual value of your item. At this point, you have three choices: redeem the loan, pay interest to keep the loan alive, or let it lapse and forfeit your goodie.
' More on Pawn Shops
Next: Desperate Move No. 6
' More on Pawn Shops
Next: Desperate Move No. 6
APSell Some Body Parts
Well, not body parts, as in a kidney or lung, we're talking more of the replaceable (and legally sold) kind like plasma and hair. In most larger cities, there are clinics that will pay you up to $35 or so for some of your plasma, which you can donate twice a week. Sales for generous lengths of tresses reportedly can net you several hundred to over a thousand dollars.
' What Else You Need to Know
Next: Desperate Move No. 5
' What Else You Need to Know
Next: Desperate Move No. 5
Bank On Your Sperm
Advertised sperm donation rates vary from $1 to $200 per week; most donors can expect somewhere around $40 per donation. It does, however, require a six-month or greater commitment, and no "liberation" of sperm when you're off the clock.
' More on Sperm Donation
Next: Desperate Move No. 4
' More on Sperm Donation
Next: Desperate Move No. 4
Contra Costa Times / MCTSell Stuff To Motorists
Roadside sales can pull in some quick cash. Pick high-profit items that aren't highly perishable and/or have a high cost/sale price ratio: cold soda, corn, baked goods, flowers.
' More on Roadside Sales
Next: Desperate Move No. 3
' More on Roadside Sales
Next: Desperate Move No. 3
Scalp Tickets (Legally)
So you're broke, and it suddenly occurs to you that you are sitting on concert tickets to Hannah Montana. If the water dept. is threatening to cut you off for non-payment, scalping those tickets could save you from a dirty, smelly fate.
' More on Legal Scalping
Next: Desperate Move No. 2
' More on Legal Scalping
Next: Desperate Move No. 2
Orlando Sentinel / MCTGo Scavenging
100,000 homeless can't be wrong! In states that require a deposit, 50 cans could bring you $2.50 or more. As scrap, 32 cans make a pound, worth 70 cents. Grab a shopping cart and go hunting! If you live near a beach, another treasure-hunting option is to use a metal detector to look for coins or other valuable items just below the sand's surface.
' More on Scrap Cans
Next: Desperate Move No. 1
' More on Scrap Cans
Next: Desperate Move No. 1
Head To The Casino
Understand this first: this is our No. 1 most desperate way to make some quick cash, and only applies in this situation: you have some money, but not enough, and MUST have more within a very short time or your life will fall into ruin. Only then does a reasonable man consider the casino.
' Games to Avoid
Next: More From WalletPop
' Games to Avoid
Next: More From WalletPop
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