Let’s face it, no matter how well you plan, sometimes emergencies happen. Here are eight simple (and legal) options for when you need quick cash.
Even with the potential emergencies that can crop up at any time (car accidents, health emergencies, bills, etc), only 39% of Americans have enough savings to cover a 1,000 dollar emergency. That number is even less as the emergency gets more costly.
So what do you do if you need money fast, but don’t have the savings to back you up?
Thankfully, there are legitimate and legal ways to get your hands on quick cash when you need it to pay an emergency medical bill, fix your car, pay off bills, or any other kind of emergency that crops up once in a while.
Keep reading to learn 8 options for when you’re broke and need money fast.
1. Pawn Items
Scour your home for any items that are high in value. You can then pawn or sell these items in a pawn shop for some quick money.
Some items that consistently sell for high amounts in pawn shops are:
- Jewelry (especially gold, silver, and precious gems)
- New electronics (cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc)
- Power tools
- Collectibles (coins, stamps, etc)
- Guns
- Sports equipment (golf clubs, catching equipment, baseball bats, etc)
It might be hard to part with these items, especially if they have a personal meaning for you, but if you need quick cash they can easily bring that to you.
2. Sell Blood, Sperm, and More
You don’t have to stop at selling material goods: you can sell your biological goods as well.
Donating plasma, aka blood, can get you anywhere between 20 to 50 dollars per donation. If you want even more money and don’t mind getting a bit personal with your donation, you can earn up to 1,000 dollars per month (and quickly make some cash with a donation).
You can also check your local college, lab, or donation center for any clinical trials that are offering to pay participants. Some research studies only require you to take a 20-minute survey for a quick 15 dollars. Others might require more intense testing, but these will probably pay more.
3. Borrow Money from a Loved One
A personal loan is a great way to borrow some quick cash: all you have to do is talk to a loved one about your situation. They’ll be more understanding than a bank or a lender would be, and you have the advantage of being able to pay them back when you can, not when the bank demands.
Personal loans like this are also usually interest-free without strings attached, which means you won’t have to worry about your need for fast money impacting you in the future.
4. Online Payday Loans
If you have a steady job and just need a small amount of money to get you through an emergency or unexpected financial hardship, online payday loans are an excellent choice. Some are also designed to help those with bad credit, which is a plus if you need money and don’t have the best credit score.
Payday loans are loans for usually small amounts of money that have a pretty high interest rate. They’re called “payday loans” because it’s expected that you pay them back by the time your next payday rolls around to avoid paying the high interest rate.
If you’re particularly strapped for cash, you can easily go online and find a lender that can loan you a payday loan. This will give you the cash you need to take care of your situation without having to go to an in-person lender or to the bank.
Be cautious, though, since these loans have high interest rates that can plunge you into more money trouble if you’re not careful. Make sure you’ll be able to pay this loan back as soon as possible.
5. Cash Advances
If you have a credit card, check if they allow for cash advances. A cash advance is when you can take out physical cash against your credit card. It’s kind of like using the credit card normally except instead of purchasing an item, you’re just getting the physical cash.
This is a great way to get some quick cash, but it ends up costing you more in the long run between the fees charged to take out cash advances along with the higher interest rates given on cash advances.
But, if you need cash, this is a legal and legitimate option.
6. Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
A home equity line of credit is a line of credit that uses your home and your home’s value as the collateral. The amount of money you can get through a HELOC will depend on a number of factors, including:
- Home value
- Credit score
- Your mortgage
- Your income
When taking out a HELOC, you’ll be given a maximum amount that you can get. However, be smart about this. You don’t have to take the maximum amount. In fact, it’s better to only take what you need as it means you’ll have less to pay back later.
7. Labor Work
Let’s say you don’t have a home to use for a line of credit, you don’t have anything to sell, or you can’t do the other options on this list. There’s always good old-fashioned hard work that can get you cash fast.
Take a trip down memory lane and offer to shovel driveways, rake leaves, or mow lawns. You can also sign up for labor apps like Postmates, Uber, Lyft, other things like that to make some quick money doing labor work.
8. Recycle
Recycling bottles, cans, and other recyclables can earn you some fast money. 10 states offer money for bottle deposits, so if you live in those states that can get you some fast money.
If you don’t live in those areas, you can still make money recycling scrap metal, car parts, and other similar items.
Need Quick Cash? Try Out These 8 Tips
Disasters and emergencies happen to all of us: there’s no way to predict when you’ll get into an accident or when your kid has to go to the ER. These emergencies get expensive, which is where quick cash tips can help.
If you need some tips on saving money, check out this article. You can also find more money saving tips on our blog.