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A Dozen Ways to Make Cash Quick

It happens to all of us. There’s an unexpected medical expense, a bill you forgot that comes due, a car repair you can’t put off. You need a chunk of cash, and you need it fast. Overtime isn’t available at work, your kid is too young to set up a lemonade stand in the front yard, and no one wants to rent your dog. What can you do? When you need cash and you need it quick, here are a few ways to snag some much-needed money.

1. Temporary work. There are temp agencies in every small town, city, and bustling metropolis that offer temporary work for all hours, and some even have weekend work. You could pick up a temporary evening or night shift for a few weeks and have that cash fairly quickly.
2. Night work. If you have a 9 to 5 but need a little something more, consider a side gig on the weekends or for a few nights a week. There’s pizza delivery (you’d be surprised how much you can earn in tips!), night shift factory work, restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores, and those 24 hour big box discount stores that never close.
3. Side gigs. Do you have a special talent you can peddle on the side? If you are fluent in a second language, you can teach night classes or tutor privately. Are you a super organizer? Offer your skills on Craigslist.
4. Let it go. You know that collection you’ve been holding on to since childhood? Do a little research online and if it’s worth some money, consider selling it. When you’ve paid off your debt and saved up a little, you can always rebuild your collection if you really miss it that much.
5. Rent it out. Do you live near an event venue where parking is at a premium? How about near an airport or a college campus? If you have driveway space, renting out a parking spot is a great way to earn some cash. You don’t even have to deal directly with the drivers if you set up a night drop system for the renters to leave their keys with you and a secure place to keep them when they need to be retrieved.
6. Run errands. There are lots of people who either cannot get out and do the things they need to do because of physical limitations, or simply don’t have the time to do them but are more than happy to pay you to do it for them. Whether you do grocery shopping and delivery through a service like Shipt, drive for Uber or Lyft, or deliver food through DoorDash, UberEats, Postmates, or GrubHub, as long as you have a dependable vehicle and are 18 or over, you can make money weekly.
7. Trade it for cash. Do you have unwatched DVDs, music CDs, or video games you won’t miss that much? Decluttr has an app you can download and use to scan your unwanted movies, music, and games for an instant valuation. Ship your stuff for free and get paid the day after it arrives at Decluttr by direct deposit, PayPal or check. They also accept tech like phones, cameras, tablets, laptops, and other electronic equipment.
8. Try it out. Could you spend a few minutes determining how user-friendly a website is? Companies like UserTesting, Analysia and TryMyUI will pay you cash for your honest feedback. Most of them claim you’ll get $10 per completed test. Just testing two sites per night for a week would net you $500. That’s worth a few minutes of your time, right?
9. Show your skill. Are you a great photographer? Check out Foap, where you can sell your photos and videos for $5 to people who appreciate your shutterbug skills. Even if you just sell a few, that’s easy money for something you were going to do anyway. You can also sell your photos on ShutterStock, iStockPhoto, and several other stock photo sites. So, the next time you see an amazing sunset, snap it quick and send it in.
10. Advertise while you drive. You’ve seen them around your town, those cars, trucks, and SUVs with the colorful vinyl wraps advertising everything from energy drinks to insurance companies. The idea is the more you drive, the more cash you can earn. This is a popular way for businesses to get their message in front of the masses, and it doesn’t require you to drive any differently than you already do. Talk about passive income! With a company like Wrapify or Carvertise, drivers can earn $200-$500 per month, depending on the size of the wrap and the miles driven (drivers are paid per mile).
11. Walk someone’s dog. You can do this one on your own by simply passing out flyers door to door in your neighborhood or putting one up at your apartment complex. If you’d rather work through a service, check out Rover. According to their website, they are the “largest network of 5‑star pet sitters and dog walkers.” You can set your own schedule and choose how involved you want to be, from drop in visits to dog walking to boarding pets in your home.
12. Deliver packages. Whether you choose to deliver packages (or even pets!) as you drive around town with an “on the way” service like Roadie that connects people who have things to send with drivers who are already heading that way, or drive for AmazonFlex a few nights a week, you can earn up to $25 per hour for some extra income to tide you over during an emergency, or as a regular supplement to your income.

There you have it; at least a dozen different ways you can earn fast cash, starting this week. With the total outstanding U.S. consumer debt standing at $3.9 trillion, you might want to use one or more of these suggestions not only to generate some fast cash, but to set up an emergency fund, build up your savings, or clear out your debt altogether.