Are you desperate for money?
What happened recently that caused you being in desperate need for cash?
Did you gamble? or maybe spent money on a vacation or cruise you couldn’t afford from the start
Or perhaps you got a medical bill or a surgery to do
For all the above, what was done was done, don’t cry over your spilled milk
Money was spent, just learn from the lesson and move forward
I am not here to judge you, not at all I am trying to help you
But if you are in desperate need for money for an upcoming event like your son or daughter’s wedding
Most probably you won’t ruin one of a time moment because you are broke
Anyway I’ll list below what to do if you’re desperate for money – I will start with
What to do if you’re desperate for money?
I know some of the below works for immediate situation
Now going forward, you must have full control on your conditions by building emergency fund and saving for the future
I will be honest, you’re going to put yourself in some sucky situations
It will start with eating cheap food just to save money on your grocery
You’ll have to step out of your comfort zone and work extra hours
Give up all the things you buy for yourself
Anyway ready for quick cash – I will start with the below
1- Return unnecessary purchases
I know it looks a simple advice but in reality it is deep than what you think
Costco store for example returns any products not only in the first 90 days of your purchase but also if you have it undamaged after that
I remember my wife had a pink T-shirt and she asked me to return it there at Costco
They didn’t mind to return it back but that item was 5 years old where it will be returned with the lowest ticket price
Walmart will return any product that exceeded the return back period and give you a store credit
What I want to say even with a store credit, you take your refund and buy your necessities that would be considered some quick cash
Do you know you can buy a Visa gift card with your store credit?
Bear with me as I will tell you how to cash it out right below
2- Exchange your unused store or Visa gift cards into cash
If you are really desperate for money
There are so many ways to do that – I will start with the most straight forward one
You can use your Visa gift card to buy store card from stores that accept Visa gift cards
Use the store card to buy whatever you need immediately
Then cash out the amount from your checking account that is equivalent to what you have on your store card
Or
Call the number on the back of you Visa gift card to register this card under your address
Then log on to your PayPal or sign up for a new PayPal account
You will be able to transfer the money to your bank account by using your linked Visa gift card
Or
If you don’t know how to do that, you can select under PayPal the send money feature to someone you trust – keep in mind there is 3% transfer fees
This person can transfer it to his bank account and give it to you as cash
3- Sell all the things you don’t need
I said this quote below about selling all the things you don’t need
Walk in your place of living and go into every and each room, look around on the floor and all the way up to the ceiling, do you see anything you can get rid of? a Quote for someone being desperate for money
Having said that, let’s say you have found multiple items to sell
Sell electronics, furniture, appliances and household items
First, before selling these items, search for these items as if you are buying them
Get a sheet of paper and write down all the prices you have found
Remember, don’t take the first price you see as your benchmark
some sellers don’t care about listing their items correctly
They just want to declutter their homes and looking for a quick cash
Yes that’s true, I had a piano and I went to Facebook Marketplace
I found people listing their pianos for free
Anyway, get 3 or 4 different prices on Facebook Marketplace and look for different cities around you
Now it is time to start listing it
if your item is less or equal to $100 then Facebook Marketplace can do a better job of finding buyers in your neighborhood eager to pick up your item and pay cash on the spot
But if you are selling an item more than $100
You can list it on multiple places like Craiglist and eBay beside Facebook Marketplace
Arrange for garage or yard sale
I wanted to add the above title as my first option
But I found you definitely need to understand the concept of setting up your prices from Facebook Marketplace
It is up to you to empty your garage and display your items on long tables with enough room for people to walk around
If you are desperate for money, this is an easy job to get rid of many items in short period of time
Sell your clothes
People nowadays started reacting positive towards used clothes and not like 1990s
I think that’s totally related to the birth of internet
Anyway if you open you closet and look carefully definitely you will find clothes you won’t wear
Except for the COVID-19 case, there is a quote that says if you pass your current season with clothes you did not wear, then definitely you won’t wear it again
Anyway, having said that, I will list below multiple sites where you can sell your unused clothes like
Poshmark although they take 20% which is considered high commission taking 20% but it is one of the top site for selling clothes beside having mobile app
Vinted
Tradesy same like Poshmark, high commission of 20% and long time for money to arrive to your PayPal account
TheRealReal
Grailed Some users reported that they take long time to reply back to emails
Regain on iPhone it got 4.5 out of 5 reviews
Depop low reviews of 3.5 out of 5
Luxury closet moderate reviews of 4.1 out of 5
Swop.it average of 4 out of 5 on reviews
Sell your car
I’ll be realistic, owning a car nowadays is a must
But if you are desperate for money and have 2 cars
Why don’t you think about getting rid of one car
I remember my first 4 years of marriage, me and my wife were using one car
Right now, during COVID-19 so many families are working from home
This means they are using one car
So if you are in need for cash then think about selling one car
Anyway always sell the less reliable one as you don’t want to fix your car with that money you got from your sold car
Sell your old cell phone
One of the best ways If you are desperate for money, open your drawer and see if you still have one or two old phones
You are not going to use them so if you are desperate for cash then use on uSell, Gazelle and decluttr to sell your old cell phones and also some other types of electronics
Sell your clutter
If you have things like books, CDs, DVDs, LEGO and old games
You can use the below sites
Beside also you can use decluttr to sell books, LEGO, games and consoles
When selling books with decluttr you type your books barcode or install the app to scan your barcodes using your phone
Sell your plasma
Again, risky for your health but If you are desperate for money, search in your city or the area you live for clinics buying plasma
All you have to do is search online for “get paid for donating plasma near me”
Sell your poop
I know it is weird but there are researchers and clinics buying poop for a new medical treatment
4- Get a housemate
I know you and me like to set our own privacy and we don’t like someone to share our place of living
But if you are desperate for money then you will have to get out of your comfort zone
Rent or mortgage is almost 25% or more of your income so getting someone to pay half of what you pay is really a good money
5- Rent your belongings for quick cash
If you are desperate for quick cash and don’t want to sell your belongings
I have an idea of renting instead of selling
This will bring you steady money but less than selling
Rent your car
If you are desperate for money, I suggested earlier to sell one of your cars but I know what was your feeling
May be a feeling of discomfort, OK I understand that
With Turo you can rent your car while you are not using it
If you like the idea then you can rent both of your cars for a steady income
There are other websites to rent your car like Getaround and TravelCar
Rent your RV
Do you own RV? if so, do you know you can make money out of it?
Some people like to take RV for camping and some resort area with far away hotels
I remember I went to a nice beach in Ontario for 3 days
I booked the nearest hotel 28 miles away
Anyway with RVShare you can make an extra cash like up to $150 per night
Also you can consider another website called Outdoorsy
Rent your extra room or basement
If the idea of looking for housemate makes you uncomfortable then you can consider AirBnb to rent your extra room or basement by days
Perhaps you can decide the days you want to make available for booking
Rent an extra space for storage
If you are desperate for money, there are so many people who want to stock their boats, cars, RVs or furniture
If you have an extra space in your driveway or anywhere else
Why don’t you use it to make money out of it
Do you know docking a boat can cost up to $15,000 a year?
If you offer half of this price, then definitely someone will finish a deal with you
You don’t have to do this all by yourself
But you can use Neighbor.com to help you rent your extra space in your home or garage
6- Sign up for free quick cash websites or apps
I know this is not a final solution
But immediate quick cash especially if you are desperate for money
The below sites and apps give you unconditional bonus when you sign up
- Swagbucks – 5$ bonus
- Inbox Dollars – $5 bonus
- Ibotta – $20 bonus
- Dosh – $5 bonus
- Rakuten – $10 bonus
Also there are so many websites that can pay up to $150 an hour for your opinion over the phone or in a group discussion like Respondent
Few websites below that tried to come close to Respondent like
User Interviews
FieldWork – US only
FocusGroup – US only
20|20 Panel
Recruit and Field
American Consumer Opinion
Probe Market Research
Survey Feeds
Again this encourages me to introduce you to many sites that offer free PayPal money instantly
Trust me it is worth to review them to collect ideas of what you can do
At the same time, you can test traditional survey sites that pay to your PayPal account
Also you can do the below to make some cash by doing the following activities
Get paid to walk by using Sweatcoin and downloading it on your iPhone and Android
Using Paidtogo another get paid to walk app available on iPhone and Android
Give your opinion about brands and make money with Toluna
Or write a review about a product you have tried before using Slice the Pie
Playing free online gambling by using Lucktastic
Let others use your phone data to access internet by downloading Honeygain
Make money by running Ads on your phone screen when it is locked by downloading ScreenLift or Slidejoy
Get paid watching videos or trailers for upcoming games by downloading AppTrailers
Get paid completing some fun and easy tasks, playing cool and nice games, watching videos by downloading CashPirate
7- Give up your WANTS
Actually I talked before many times about your wants and needs
I know some people don’t know the difference
But I will summarize it in few words
Your needs is everything that keeps you surviving like your shelter, food and transportation
Yes for the later, you need to get back and forth to work
On the other side, you wants is anything that you can get rid of and still doesn’t impact your life
An example but it is harsh for me to say it
I was reading on Reddit earlier about someone living with his dog and he is really desperate for money
To my surprise, one of the readers suggested to get rid of his dog temporarily by sending him to a shelter
I know how pet in your life makes you feel but it depends on your situation
8- Get cashback on everything you buy
If you are desperate for money, there are so many cashback credit cards that give you up to 4%
Some are free with no annual charges and they give up to 2% cashback
While most of the 4% Visa or Mastercard come with annual charges
Sometimes you can get 5% cash back like Target if used inside the store
While the above is a must have option you can still make cash back from many apps when buying online or in the stores like
Get cashback with your purchases and gas
Swagbucks gives you 5$ bonus when you sign up and cashback on any purchase you make online through their website
Rakuten with $10 bonus and cash back on thousands of online stores
MyPoints is a reward program similar to Swagbucks, you get $10 bonus when you sign up
You have to make a minimum purchases of $20 to cash out your bonus
TopCashBack is similar to MyPoints where you get rebates and coupons through many stores online
Qmee is also similar to the above
Paribus gives you cashback on online purchases similar to Rakuten and available on mobile phones
Ibotta gives $20 bonus when you sign up and cashback on groceries, also available on mobile phones
Honey is a mobile app that gives you cashback similar to Rakuten, Paribus and TopCashBack
Dosh gives you $5 bonus when you sign up
All you have to do is link your debit or credit to the app and the app will scan all purchases and gives you cashback on selected products
Shopkick is another app making money for you through online shopping
GetUpside is a cashback app for gas, it gives you 25 cents back on every gas receipt
Fetch Rewards you get $2 when you sign up and gives you cash back on your scanned receipts
Receipt Hog gives you cashback on your grocery receipts and it is available on Android and iPhone
Storewards similar to Receipt Hog it gives you cashback on your groceries available on Android and iPhone
Cashout 51 same as Receipt Hog and Storewards, it gives you cashback on products shown on the app only
ShopAtHome is another cashback app partnered with more than 2,000 retailers in US
I know the above apps would not be suffice if you are desperate for money but it really sums up
9- Cut unnecessary bills and negotiate the must use ones
I had a previous post about catching up on bills when you are behind
I summarize two important points
There are bills you can easily get rid of like home phone
You can replace it with VOIP – Voice Over IP phone or completely use your cell phones and that’s enough for people to reach you
Also for the cable TV instead of paying $50 to $100 monthly fees
You can replace it with IPTV for fraction of what you pay like $30 annually
What about a magazine subscription? do you have time to read them?
Again GYM membership – is it essential for you to keep it?
Now for all the bills that you cannot live without
You can negotiate them but don’t do it yourself
Get the expert to do it for you by using AskTrim, BillSmart, BillCutterz, BillFixers and Bill Shark in the US
Or you can use Bill Busters in Canada
10- Work a part time job or find a side hustle
When you say I am desperate for money and looking for a sort of cash flow every month
If that’s the case, you can work on a part time job or find an easy side hustle you can do for an extra quick cash like the following things below
Work overtime for easy cash
Start with an easy option of looking for working over time
Talk to your manager and see if it is possible as some companies don’t want to incur paying 1.5 hours for each hour
Complete micro jobs for business
If you are not able to work overtime then you can look for completing micro jobs for other companies or businesses
If you are desperate for money, there are companies that don’t want to hire a contractor for small tasks
If you like the idea, you can sign up to Gigwalk and browse all the jobs you can do
It can be auditing and taxation, building company websites, testing websites or managing the social media
Perform small tasks around the house
Being a handy man is really a talent or skill everyone will envy you about it
You don’t have to be desperate for money anymore
People will start looking for you even without advertising for yourself
It can be by words of mouth
I know two family relatives who were able to finish their basements all by themselves
They only had to buy the building materials which is a fraction of what you’ll pay if you hire someone to finish your basement for you
If you know how to do things around your home, you can use your skills to do work in other homes and get a quick cash
A site like TaskRabbit is one of the top website and app to sign up as a worker
Also you can consider these competitive below websites which are all similar to TaskRabbit
Zaarly
Handy
NeedTo
Porch
NextDoor
TalkLoca
Drive Uber or Lyft
Driving your car with Uber or Lyft will give you a lot of flexibility in our time
If you are ready to work, just turn on the app
When you are done just turn off the app
If you are desperate for money then Uber or Lyft will make quick cash for you
Teach English Online
There are many foreigners especially Chinese students looking to learn English
Or it can be anyone how wants to practice English as a second language
If you are desperate for money, you can get paid $23 an hour?
The best thing is that you can set your own time
Anyway if you are interested in teaching English
You can consider the below website to sign up and start teaching English to students
TeckAway
VIPKID
Dada
Qkids
iTutorGroup
GoGoKid
51Talk
EnglishHunt
Do online tutoring
If you are not into teaching English
But you are capable of teaching other materials like Math, Science or whatever
You still have a chance to make good money from teaching
Just sign up to the below websites
Tutor
Tutorvista
VIPKID
Chegg Tutors
TutorHub
Smarthinking
Aim for A Tutoring
Buddy School
MyPrivateTutor
Transtutor
Vedantu
TutorMe
Skooli
Wyzant
PrePly
CourseHero
Deliver food
I totally understand how you feel taking food delivery job for someone you may know
In fact, you can specify the location you want to work for to avoid this embarrassment
If after all of that, it happens you meet someone you know
So what there is nothing wrong about working extra job
I heard a story of someone who worked in gas station on weekends for 6 hours each day
2 hours after work on daily basis and almost after 3 years he is celebrating paying off his debt
I worked at Walmart for 3 years and I was embarrassed about it
Anyway I am not here to change your attitude
If you are interested about food delivery then you can consider DoorDash or Postmates
Babysitting
Babysitting is a very lucrative business
There is always a short in supply and high in demand
The most important thing in babysitting business is to work this job if you are patient and really love kids
Although it is very lucrative and you can make a lot of money out of it
It takes good time to build a reputable name and it is easy to get your reputation ruined by simple mistakes you don’t pay attention to
For example, parents picking up their kid only to find food all over his clothes or a trace of chocolate over his mouth
They won’t tell you but you will never get this kid again
My point is once you get 5 or more kids, you will have these kids over and over for some good time
Let us do the math here, If you babysit 3-4 kids at one session, no more than that
You don’t want to lose your focus as you need to keep an eye on all the kids
How to maximize your babysitting side hustle
You can easily charge $25 an hour and that’s a really good rate
This is $200 for 2 hours and you will get paid cash
I found Care.com to be a good site for you to signup for your babysitting services
Here is a trick to penetrate this lucrative but hard business without any hassle
Start with a small scale by advertising yourself in your neighborhood like 2-3 streets near you
Most probably your face looks familiar to your neighbors
You can advertise your name with a photo of yourself on every mailbox
They will most likely trust you for 2 hours babysitting job
What is most important here is the feedback you will collect from these parents
Don’t be shy to ask for it
Also you can buy cheap toys for the kids
What is more important is to have these kids showing joy impression on their faces when their parents drop them at your place
Who knows may be you won’t be desperate for money anymore
Walk dogs and pets
If you love pets and already talking your dog for walk
Why you don’t take other dogs for walk too and make money out of it
Yes this is possible with Rover, all you have to do is sign up for a new account
Then you can offer your services like boarding a dog where dog owners can leave their dogs with others while they are on vacation
Plus other services like house sitting, drop-in visits, doggy day care and dog walking
There are two other competitive websites fetchpetcare and petsitters.org offering same services
Flipper – reselling items for profit
Buying things for cheap and selling them high to others buyers
Weird right? but it is real side hustle that can make you thousands of money
I remember I had a piano and I went to Facebook Marketplace to see how much it is worth for similar type
I found a lot of people offering pianos for free just to pick them up
Simply they want to get rid of it and never thought to sell it
I know someone name Rob and his wife Melissa, they are expert flippers
They make $100,000 a year just from flipping items
That’s why they packaged their huge knowledge into a flipping course
Transcribers
Transcribers are those who can simply type audio recordings to convert them to text
Perhaps you have to be a fast typist and be able to memorize or quickly mark on your document any section that needs to be revised
You can expect to be paid between $25 to $30 an hour
That’s really a decent pay for someone who is desperate for money
Below are all the sites that require transcribers
Crowdsurf
Daily Transcription
GMR Transcription
Neal R. Gross
Scribie
Tigerfish
Transcriptions ‘N’ Translations
TranscribeMe
Ubiqus
1-888-TYPE-IT-UP
Verbal Ink
3Play Media
Transcription Outsourcing
If you want to pursue the transcribers job then you can take this Transcribe Anywhere course
Scoping jobs
Scopist is a person who edits the transcripts of official proceedings created by court reporters
So what is hard in that?
It is not hard but reporters write legal proceedings quickly and there may be spelling and grammatical mistakes
That’s why you need to be good for fixing grammar and punctuation
Good news is you don’t need to attend or go to the court
But you need to be able to work under pressure and by yourself
Finally, if you are interested into pursuing scoping jobs then you can check this scoping course
Website Tester
Testing websites is an easy job compared to all other IT jobs
Sometimes website tester requires to install certain software and use webcam
User Testing pays to PayPal minimum of $10
User Feel is similar website
Userbrain.net
TestingTime is similar but you are testing products or services
Freelance jobs
If you are really desperate for money then search carefully for all the freelancing jobs and see if you can really one or more of these type of jobs
Freelancing is a big umbrella of so many jobs like graphic design including posters and logos
Also building websites, writing contents for your blog, developing applications especially on mobile and testing websites
These above jobs are just an example but there are so many more
At the same time, these freelancing website Fiverr, Guru, and PeoplePerHour are few of many freelancing sites that connect those who are looking to hire with freelancers
11- Ask a friend for help
You know asking a friend to lend you money is easier than getting a loan from your financial institution
At least your friend will lend you with no interest
You just have to swallow your pride and admit that you are in trouble
It doesn’t matter if your friend would think that you are desperate for money
I know it can be embarrassing and they will ask you few questions about your finances and what let you to into that situation
Anyway it will end up that if they show a sign of agreeing on the concept of lending you money
It is now your turn to set up a solid expectation of then you will be able to pay it back
You have to be clear about paying back in installments or lump sum after certain period of time
If paying by installment, make sure to pay the due amount on time as it will be very embarrassing for your relative or friend to remind you
What if he is a shy person, this person will stay away from you
This will cause to ruin your relationship for no reason
Remember to treat your lender the same way you want to be treated if it happens that you lend money to him/her
12- Apply for a loan or line of credit
If you own your home and you are desperately looking for money
You can apply for a line of credit against your home
This is a low interest loan that you can pay it anytime with no penalty
Of course, the more you stay having your loan, the more interest you will accumulate
Another idea for a loan but you have to be very careful about that
Sometimes you receive a promotion for a new credit card balance transfer with 0% interest for 18 months
You can transfer all your credit cards balances to the new card
That’s considered a quick money as instead of paying your credit cards
Then you can use the money for your emergency and pay your loan slowly before the end of the grace period
How can you get money urgently?
Needing money urgently or being desperate for money is a condition that will put you under huge stress and anxiety
I want to break it up to defining urgency till you figure out that the urgency you made it is just something in your mind
For example, if you have a medical bill, you can negotiate the terms and pay the minimum to show your commitment
What else I can think of that can be urgent like having a utility bill to be paid
So what, it is a bill that cannot be a thousand dollars
I remember a neighbor who told me he got a water bill of more than $500
It ended up that he disputed it because of a leak in his water pipes
Learn the urgency diagram properly
Anything you believe is urgent may not be urgent as you think
Take a look at the below diagram from First Things First book written by Steven Covey
This is a must read book as best book for time management
Along with Dave Ramsey’s book called Total Money Makeover as best money management book
You would start to shape your mind about planning for future and expecting the unexpected by building emergency funds
Now you need quick answer if you need money urgently
Ask a friend of family to lend you the money
This is the best option compared to all alternatives
Even if you entice the person who is lending you money by giving back the money with interest
Assuming this person accepts, it will be way better than going to lending stores
Cash out money from your HELOC
HELOC stands for home equity line of credit
Assume you don’t have one, it would take you around a week to get a new HELOC
If you can adjust yourself to wait for a week then you have this option if you failed finding someone to lend you money
Apply for a bank loan
This option can take 2 days or sometimes same day
Although it is higher in interest than HELOC but better than the below
Take out cash advance from your credit card
Most credit cards allow you to withdraw money from any ATM machine
Some credit cards will let you cash out the maximum credit limit
While there are some cards that have separate limit for cash advance
Anyway once you cash out money, interest will start to count immediately
Expect to pay a cash out fee plus interest that can reach up to 20% if you pay the withdrawn money within a year
For example, if you cash out $500 you will end up paying around $100 on top of the $500
Payday loans
I don ‘t know why Payday loans still in business and opening stores every where
This explains why there are really people who are suck at money
If it happens that you take a money from payday loan then expect to pay 300% back in a year
What does that mean?
Simply if you take $100 you have to pay a fee or interest of $15 in 2 weeks
If you keep the money for a year, you will pay $391 for this $100 taken
That’s why this would be the last resort to think about if you are desperate for money