Monday, September 9, 2013

Five Ways to Get Money Fast!



Recently I have been sharing ways to keep more of the money you earn. Sometimes being able to manage the money coming in is all you need to improve your life. Making your meals from scratch instead of eating out is a big enough savings that it can help you to free up money to use elsewhere. Changes like that put money back into your budget pretty rapidly. 


But then there are those other times when what you really need is to get some more money into your hands and fast! Perhaps you or your spouse has just lost a job. Even if you applied for assistance until a new job is found, that takes time to get processed and you still need to eat and keep the the electricity on. So, what is a stressed out, worried person to do?


I speak from all too much experience on this topic, so I will tell you some things we have done during job losses.



1. Hold a yard sale.  Some folks reading this know they have stuff to sell because they have a shopping habit. Some of us just have things that have piled up and are not currently needed. I had some car parts in my trunk that my mechanic and I had intended for him to use in making a repair to my car. It was not a pressing need...I had the parts in my trunk for a year! When I had another car issue that was a pressing need, I took those car parts back, bought what I needed, had enough left over to pay my mechanic, and had additional money to put towards some bills. 

Many years ago when my husband lost a job we had a succession of yard sales that netted us nearly $1,000.00, which was enough to keep us afloat while he looked for and landed a new job. Of course it would be much better to have an emergency fund ready and waiting. Due to the economic events of the past few years, many of us have not been able to stock an emergency fund so we need to explore other options.



2. Find and fill a need. Perhaps you have noticed that yards in your neighborhood are looking shabby. You  can approach your neighbors with an affordable offer to mow their yards. My husband has one regular mowing job for a neighbor down the street and an occasional mowing job for the neighbor next door. He wants to get several more in our neighborhood to help beef up our bottom line. Or, you notice the neighbor kids are home alone after school because they are hanging out at your house every afternoon playing with your kids. Approach your neighbors with an affordable offer to watch their kids after school. There are some local rules and regulations on child care so check into it first, but it is right now money right where you are. These are just two examples we have done in our family. Your skill set will determine what you can do.



3. Redeem aluminum, metals, and glass. Depending on where you live, aluminum cans and glass may have deposits assessed on them and you can redeem them for right now money. I just read recently about a woman whose 9 year-old son wanted some expensive shoes. She lived in one of these areas where cans have a deposit. Her son contacted neighbors, friends, and relatives who were only too happy to donate to his cause. He earned $161.00 in one month. Even in locales where all you can do is to sell aluminum cans, you can earn money that can put gas in your car. Aluminum cans are everywhere. I grab them whenever I see them. Every store parking lot has at least two near where I park no matter when I go. Copper is another metal that is worth a nice chunk of change right now. If you have any copper tubing lying around, you can sell it to a recycler and make a tidy profit.



4. Teach lessons in an area where you are proficient. One summer, I taught a week long morning craft class for kids in my home. I had lots of crafts I wanted to do with my five children and had to purchase a lot of materials. I defrayed the cost of materials, gave some moms five mornings of time to themselves, and taught some kids some fun activities, while putting some cash into my wallet. Do you speak a foreign language fluently? Do you know how to knit, sew, or crochet? Are you a whiz at cooking a special cuisine? People will gladly pay you to learn what you know. You can create a flyer and post it at your local library, on your church's bulletin board, or on Craig's List and be teaching and earning within a week or two or even sooner!



5. Rent things you own to others for short-term use. Do you have some tools or other items that folks are always asking to use? Perhaps you can make some money by listing them for rental to local folks. Do you have room in your garage, basement, or attic you can rent out? Renting a storage room can be quite expensive so you could offer someone a storage space for less and still earn decent money for yourself.
Check out this company (RelayRides) that helps you to rent out your car to others to earn money-https://relayrides.com/earn?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ownernat. There are all kinds of websites set up to help folks rent their homes, vehicles, and more.

Will any of these ventures replace regular income? Not likely. What they will do is put cash in your wallet pretty rapidly and allow you a little breathing room while you regroup and get a plan of action in place.

Have you faced loss of income and needed money quickly? What did you do to meet this need? I love hearing from you, so please take a moment to leave a comment and let's help each other by sharing what we have learned.

70 comments:

  1. I make jewelry and have a local store selling them for me. I have had many garage sales and have even bought low to sell high some items on ebay or Craigslist. Last year I bought Ugg boots on clearance and sold them for $35 over what I paid. I also nanny one day a week. I've done craft shows too. I'm always looking for a way to get some extra cash for bills. It takes work, but is definitely worth it! www.lovemydiyhome.com

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  2. Good tips, especially the one about holding a class in something you're proficient in. What a great idea! Now I just need to figure out something that I'm skilled in! Thanks!

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    1. Jennifer, think of something you find yourself telling others frequently
      and it is an area where you have a skill you can teach. ; )

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  3. Great idea to rent out space in your home. Right after I have the yard sale and get rid of the stuff in the basement, I'll have plenty of room to rent out!

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  4. Interesting ideas! And thanks for the reminder that we need to clean out our basement and have a garage sale! Hmmm, there's a business: someone to come over and hold the garage sale for you!! haha!

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  5. Good idea to hold a class in something you are gifted at.

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    1. I firmly believe that our talents were given to us by God so we can use them to
      earn an income.

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  6. Great tips! You never know when the next opportunity will arise to help someone and that could lead to a money maker!

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  7. Great tips and ideas. A garage sale is always good to raise some cash quickly. Although we are not short on cash, we do save all of our cans and bottles and redeem them.

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    1. What do you do with the proceeds of your redeemed bottles and cans?

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  8. Great ideas! My kids did their own garage sale this past summer and made summer spending money. I also do child care here and there for extra spending money. My son jokes that his parents have 3-4 jobs each. You do what you got to survive!

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    1. The publisher, Tina Brown, calls this practice of lots of little jobs gigonomics. I think it is smart because it is much easier to replace a little job rather than a full time job these days.

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  9. We do our recycling and roll all of our change about once a quarter to bring in some extra to throw at our current savings goals.

    Great list. I wrote a whole post on selling your used books online too.

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    2. Trisha, saving change can add up pretty fast. I have sold books online but not a lot. I would like to read your post on that topic. Would you provide the link to that post?

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  10. Now that two of you have mentioned running a yard sale as a business, I find myself thinking about offering that as a service!

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  11. Lots of great ideas! I like the idea of garage sales for getting rid of things we don't need but I've never thought we could make much money from them. $1000! That's impressive!

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    1. Krissa, the reason we made so much is that we had a lot of stuff that had accumulated!

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  12. Great tips! Even if you don't need money now, using these ideas as a way to set money aside just in case is always good, too! (We learned the hard way earlier this year just how important a savings is.) My son recycles, he's only 12 and has learned the value of not only saving money but saving things from the landfill! Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. I am glad you pointed out that though we may not be short of cash, it is wise to plan for the future.

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  13. I need to host a yard sale! LOL. It's always amazing the things you never know you had. I'm starting the recycling habit now.

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  14. You have some great idea. I have never thought about renting attic space, but you are right, it can be done! I'm thinking of doing a craft "school" next summer- thanks for getting the wheels turning! :)
    xoxo

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    1. Thanks, Kelli! I try to think as positively as I can so when financial challenges come I have some ways to meet those challenges.

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  15. These are some great ideas! I want my kids to learn how to make their own money and spend it wisely and some of these ideas would work for that as well!

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    1. It both amazed and amused me how frugal my kids were with their money!

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  16. I like your tips. Sounds like I need a yard sale. Goodbye clutter, hello money. :)

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  17. I really love these tips--especially the one about renting stuff out! How come I never thought of that? *lol*

    To make extra money I sell name brand cosmetics at Http://brokefierceandfabulous.com and then I also blog which has seen a small trickle in income... I wish it were a downpour *lol*.

    I would love to hold a garage sale.. my boyfriend has expensive clothes that he hasn't worn in years that I would love to get rid of because it's just taking up space... maybe I can find a consignment store for them???

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    1. I loved visiting your blog, btw. You might see if there is a Plato's closet in your area for consigning nice clothes.

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  18. These are some great tips. And I so love that it's not some step program to get rich fast or whatever. They're practical, doable tips that you know will work. We have an online yard sale site for my community that I use a lot and is really helpful. There are some things on here I never would have thought of. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks for your kind comments. I always hope to be able to help others by sharing what I have learned from my hardships.

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  19. Thanks for such an informative and inspirational post. You and your husband sound so proactive - and with 5 kids, wow! You really are someone to learn from!

    I am a stay-at-home mum to my two boys who are under 3 and have just launched a free online magazine for parents, so hoping to be able to make just enough money to fund living expenses, so there isn't so much pressure on my husband to provide bread to support us.

    But, I like the idea of teaching what I know. I am a professional violinist, so it would be worth teaching children the violin.

    Thanks for the tips :-)

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    1. Leyla, you are pretty inspirational yourself, running a business while parenting two kiddos under the age of three! I wish you great success on your online magazine. Looking for any contributors?

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  20. I like the "fill a need" idea. We don't realize how there can be instant income all around us! This year has been like that for us. We continue to find ways to make things work as we deal with job loss. For our family, to pay for piano lessons for our daughter, she created a kid business. Whether she is selling home made books marks or hair clips, it gets the job done and she learns about math/business. For more check out my post: http://littlepinkcasa.blogspot.com/2013/09/teaching-money-by-starting-kid-business.html
    Thank you for a great post!

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  21. Great tips! All last week, I didn't eat out. I want/need to save money. Plus I like to eat so keeping that $20+ a week (If I ate out all 5 days)in my pocket! I think a yard sale is good too. Wow $1000, you all have some great stuff!!

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  22. I sell quilts, but the costs are high. Fabric prices are through the roof, so that makes it tough. But patterns are great, too!! And that is where my money is starting to come in.

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    1. I was just encouraging a quilting friend to start selling her patterns! Glad to hear it is working for you. I am going to tell her to get a move on!

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  23. Interesting ideas and great for us right now. We are in between jobs and these are some good ideas of how to earn a little cash during the interim!

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    1. It also helps you to hang on to your self-esteem by realizing that you have skills and abilities to earn money even when unemployed.

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  24. Thank you for the tips. We hold a yard sale at least once a year. This year I wish that we had the chance to have two.

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  25. There are always little ideas you can do for some extra money. Thanks for the ideas. I have even taught a weekend class at the local college.

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    1. I would love to know more about the class you taught at the college. I am intrigued.

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  26. These are all great ideas. I've been finding things around the house lately that haven't been used in quite awhile. I think it's time for a yard sale! We've also been teaching our kids that money doesn't grow on trees and they've been very pro-active with getting baby-sitting and lawn-mowing jobs here and there to help pay for some of their social activities. Pretty soon they'll be a lot of leaves to start raking and snow to shovel.

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    1. Isn't it rewarding to see your kids take ownership of an area like paying for their activities?

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  27. I love the craft idea. Lately I have been putting some things that have been sitting in our storage area on Craigslist too. It is just sitting there collecting dust, so why not make a few bucks off it?

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  28. The class idea is a great one - we have a woman down the block who held art classes in her home over the summer. She charged a VERY fair price and as a result, we sent both kids there for 6 weeks. Word of mouth spread about her lovely demeanor and fair pricing and she was BOOKED all summer. She's now holding classes after school for kids - we're so happy for her.

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    1. There is a win, win, win situation if ever I saw one! The kids get a great class, the parents get a break, and the neighbor earns income.

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  29. The easiest way for me to put money back in the household is to reduce or eliminate how often we out, buying more items in bulk so over time, I spend less. It's a great idea to sell items you no longer use and offer your talents/services for hire.
    Jae Mac @ I'm Just Sayin'...(Damn!)

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    1. We also buy lots of marked down items to help reduce food costs. Last night I had tostadas and the large can of beans used to make the meal had been reduced to 69 cents!

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  30. These are great ideas! We are gearing up for a yard sale here!

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    1. Thanks Sarah! I hope your yard sale is a huge success. We let our kids sell cookies, Lucas (Mexican powder popular here in central Texas), and drinks at our yard sales and they were very motivated to help contribute items to make the yard sale attract more buyers.

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  31. I use to teach dance classes and loved it. It has been quite a while and maybe I should think about it again. Extra money would be great.

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  32. When my husband lost his job we had a few yard sales. We managed to make $1,500 which kept us from dipping into our emergency fund for a few weeks. Thankfully he found a new job fast.

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    1. That is wonderful that your yard sale was so successful!

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  33. My husband was laid off the end of April and has been freelancing since then. This is another way to utilize your skills while looking for more permanent work.

    I am also looking to have a yard sale. It will help us declutter and give us some extra money. I'm excited to get the stuff out of the house and to the extra money. AND what doesn't sell WILL NOT come back into the house!

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    1. I hope your husband is able to find permanent work he enjoys soon. So glad he is able to freelance for now. What a blessing!

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  34. Good ideas. This is not so much a "make money now" idea as a "plan ahead one." I belong to a credit union, and they do not require that you roll your coins. Each night I empty my coins into a container, and each time I go to the credit union I take the money and put it into a special saving account to just be used for emergencies. A nice little fund can be built up, and it doesn't hurt at all to do it.

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    1. Wonderful idea! I bet you don't miss those coins and when you look at that savings account you smile...

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  35. This is great! We used to save all our bottles & cans when we lived in CA, but now that we live in IN we can't get any money for them... SO sad! We would love to throw a garage sale, but we just donated a bunch of things so that we wouldn't have to bring as much on our move. I'm hoping to find ways to earn a little extra here & there in our new area.

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  36. Great ideas! My daughter has spent the summer cutting yards and doing odd jobs to earn money for a trip. Now if I could do that :)

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  37. Great ideas, my friend recently created a Facebook page to sell the clothes she know longer uses, she staged photos of the clothes paired with accessories to show how to wear it, and compared how much she paid for it with her bargain resale prices. She's doing really well!
    http://www.Lush-Fab-Glam.com

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  38. I love these ideas, simple and easy yet that little bit of extra cash can help!

    We have been very blessed for my husband to not have lost either of his two jobs through this recession we've been in. We have always been on a very tight budget and I began supplementing that with my sewing and photography businesses. I'm actually getting ready to do one of the things on your list... teach a beginning sewing class. I've already got about 6 people interested.

    Thanks for sharing these great ideas.

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  39. I really like your idea about teaching classes. That is one I could see myself actually using. I haven't had much success with yard sales. I must either have the wrong price point or stuff no one else wants either... I'm hopeless! Oh well. I appreciate your sound advice for supplementing your income in a reasonable way. Krista @ A Handful of Everything

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  40. Oh my goodness...look at your comments..you go girl! Blog on!! Great post. After doing a rehearsal dinner this last weekend I am serious about thinking about renting out my dishes..oh my, the rental is expensive!
    Keep it up girl...your comments should encourage you!

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    1. Janette, you have such beautiful things, people will beat a path to your door to rent those dishes. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement!

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