Last Updated on January 13, 2023
If you are looking for how to make money fast, you are not alone. There are times in life when you need money, and you need it immediately! Yes, we’ve all been there.
Thanks to today’s awesome apps and technology, there are a ton of quick jobs and activities you can pick up easily to start making money fast. Here are the top ways to make money fast in 2023:
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Creative Ways To Make Money Fast
1. Take Online Surveys
With Branded Surveys, you can start earning points right away. Simply sign-up, start completing surveys, referring friends, or taking online polls, and start seeing your points rack up.
You can redeem your points for cash through Paypal or gift cards to top retailers such as Amazon, PayPal, Visa, or Apple.
With a 4.5-star rating from Trustpilot and thousands of great customer reviews, you can’t go wrong with Branded Surveys.
2. Participate in Market Research
Unlike many other paid online survey websites, Swagbucks allows you to earn money in a variety of ways including watching videos, playing games, shopping online, and even surfing the web.
Once you start completing tasks, Swagbucks will reward you with Swagbucks (SB) points. These points can be redeemed for cash back or gift cards.
Each task pays out anywhere from $0.40 to $2.00 on average.
3. Teach an Online Course
You can make money online teaching anything as long as you know a little more than someone else.
Are you good at guitar? Pick up some extra cash by helping others master their passion for music. Are you artsy? Teach someone how to design, craft, or master lettering. Are you into fitness? Teach someone how to get fit.
Tutoring online can make you an easy $15 – 20 per hour, and much more for more advanced school courses. In 2022, it’s never been easier to teach something in person or—even better—online.
Why is online teaching better? Because you can use a platform like Teachable to develop an engaging, interactive course, and then earn easy, passive income thereafter.
Put in the upfront effort to build a meaningful course based on your unique skills and experiences, and then collect checks for months (or years!) afterward.
Not to mention people are turning to the web as the new, default way to learn everything. Since the start of the pandemic, people have transitioned more to online hobbies and services.
And if you’re not ready to create a full-blown course, tutoring is a great way to teach (and make money) without having to create content. It’s an ideal job for a college student.
Here are a few tutoring sites worth checking out:
- TutorMe typically pays around $15 – $20 per hour. The more advanced knowledge you have, the better you get paid.
- TakeLessons is perfect for music and teaching other languages.
- Yup Tutors pays you ~$20 per hour, and uses a really easy app interface for 1 on 1 tutoring.
- Cambly is a site that will pay you just for speaking English with people! There are millions of people around the world learning to speak English, and this site connects them with you and pays you ~$10 per hour just to chat! Sounds like easy money if you ask me!
- Teachable allows you to create your own course and charge however much you want. Productizing your knowledge is a great way to earn passive income.
4. Get a Freelance Side Gig
On Fiverr, you can connect with people who need your freelance skills. No matter what your side gig happens to be—from data entry pro to voice-over artist—Fiverr offers a transparent platform to connect with the market.
Fiverr started as a small site, and is now a massive publicly traded company, so it’s definitely legit for paying fast cash. Don’t let the name fool you—you can definitely earn more than $5 for tasks. Actually, this is a marketplace where the more unique and specialized your skills, the more you can charge.
Freelancing lets you make your own schedule, but it may take longer than a couple of days to develop a steady client base.
5. Get a Babysitting Gig
This tried-and-true money-maker isn’t just for teenagers and the odd college student anymore. Sites like Care.com help you connect with people who need professional childcare or even petsitting services.
You’ll need to start an account and prove your credentials. If you can connect with a few clients, you could have yourself a part-time job.
The best thing about babysitting in the afternoons is that usually, you can study (or do other remote work) at the same time if the kids don’t require full-time attention. This makes it a great way to make money for a college student or someone with other online work to do. Getting paid to do two jobs at the same time is the ultimate win.
6. Do Rideshare Driving
Over the past decade, Uber and Lyft have revolutionized ride-sharing. By becoming a driver, you can make money on the side on your own schedule and in your own car.
You’d need your own car insurance policy and your own car, which would have to meet certain safety and comfort requirements. So if you’re still driving that 20-year-old lemon, it may be time for an upgrade.
Uber Eats now offers another way to deliver food and make money driving. If you live in a city, you can develop a nice side income if you’re willing to spend your free time in the car.
One of the reasons Uber and Lyft are so popular as side jobs is that they pay fast, and you can work your own hours. Uber offers up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus, while Lyft offers you $3,000 in guaranteed earnings for giving 170 rides within your first 30 days.
If you don’t have a car, visit Hyrecar.com to rent a car that is already pre-qualified to drive with Uber and Lyft. Uber and Lyft also offer their own car rental services.
7. Pet Sitting or House Sitting
If you have free time and live in the right area, you could house-sit or pet-sit through one of these sites:
- House Sitters America
- TrustedHousesitters
- HouseCarers (previously HouseSitters.com)
One thing to note here is that while some of these jobs pay you cash to look after people’s houses and/or pets, many of them pay you in the form of “a free place to stay.” Not exactly the right reward, depending on your situation.
This works best if you can find an assignment in your city. Otherwise, your travel expenses may cut too deeply into your earnings. Also, look out for some of these sites that have an annual fee, which is usually $50 – $150.
If you’re interested in being a pet sitter or dog walker, check out Wag or Rover. Both of these apps have tons of available work in every city and neighborhood, and pay you quick cash afterward!
8. Sell Stock Photos
It’s gotten more difficult to earn a side income from taking stock photos since the market is so saturated, but I still like Foap.com because it’s integrated into your smartphone.
If a brand manager needs a certain kind of photo for an ad campaign, you can provide it quickly… and for cash. Just take a photo and upload it through the iPhone app.
9. Assessing Properties
People who need to buy a property sight unseen have a dilemma: Can they really trust the salesperson to tell them about flaws or downsides?
They need someone close by to go take a look at the property—whether it’s real estate or a vehicle—and report back. You could be that helpful person if you have a smartphone and some extra time.
WeGoLook.com offers a place to get started. They don’t require any qualifications to start with and it’s free to sign up. Once you’re registered as a PRO Looker, you start making cash looking at properties, making notes, and taking photos. They also have gigs for assessing cars, commercial properties, and land.
Pro tip: If you own a drone or can fly one, many people are looking for aerial photos of houses and land for real estate listings. These types of advanced skills get you paid more for jobs.
10. Take Online Polls
This is the same kind of deal as Swagbucks. You can take online surveys, watch videos, take polls, browse and shop online—all while gradually earning extra money.
Gradually is the key term with these kinds of platforms. You can take a more active approach and earn a little more deliberately. But these services work best when you work them into your existing daily routine.
What’s even better is the $10 bonus you can get for signing up and giving it a try.
11. Start An Online Business, Blog, or YouTube Channel
Many of the ideas above would also work as side hustles of your own to build up over time. You could earn money as a dog walker by advertising your services on social media, like Facebook. The same goes for teaching painting or guitar lessons. Some self-promotion, combined with your expertise, can do a lot for your savings account.
Expect some upfront costs if you’d like to make business cards or launch your own company website. But social media really can provide the medium you need to connect with clients. If you’re already good with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, advertising your business isn’t too hard and there are endless affiliate marketing opportunities.
Starting a blog or YouTube channel can be slow going to start. But, your upfront effort can really pay off later if you can build up a large audience. You can generate passive income via affiliate marketing, product recommendations, or selling a course or ebook.
One of the quickest ways to make cash ASAP is to sell items you no longer need. If you have any electronics, used furniture, lightly used clothes or even home decor, you can list these things to make fast money.
Also if you are crafty and can easily make things, you could open an online shop to sell your items for quick cash.
12. Sell Your Crafts on Etsy
Do you have a passion for making things? Is your hobby crafty? It is so easy to sell things online in 2022 and make an extra few hundred dollars here and there. Why? There are platforms such as Etsy, which make it easy to connect your product with potential buyers.
Are you into quilting? Do you make jewelry? Do you like building surfboards? Sell your goods online by opening your own Esty shop!
A big new trend is selling printables, or digital downloads, in your Etsy shop. What I love about digital downloads is you only make the design once, but sell it hundreds of times over. Plus, there are no shipping or fulfillment costs.
Even if it’s only a few dollars at the start, your earnings can add up to good money over time for no additional work.
13. Sell Your Unwanted Stuff
Got old DVDs, a tablet, or a cell phone lying around? Trade your phone in for hundreds of dollars. You’ll even get a 10% trade-in bonus (up to $50) at Decluttr with code SELLMYCELL10. And they buy a lot more than cell phones.
If you’re looking for a more local approach, Craigslist—one of the original online marketplaces—works whether you’re selling a prom dress, a used car, or a set of cookware.
If you arrange a meet-up, insist on a location that’s well-lit and well-populated. More and more police stations now have safe zones in their parking lots with live camera feeds to deter theft.
Facebook Marketplace is becoming more and more popular, and what’s great about it is users are verified through the Facebook platform. It makes it a little more trustworthy when selling your items and accepting cash from people.
14. Start Selling on Amazon or eBay
A lot of small businesses sell items through Amazon. It’s an amazing way to connect to buyers around the world.
Individuals can also become online sellers. Your books, CDs, clothes, collectibles, dishes, appliance parts—you name it—could find a new home through Amazon.
eBay is also a proven method for reselling anything online. Whether you’re setting up a dropshipping business to sell other people’s inventories, or buying bulk lots and reselling them yourself, a lot of money can be made on eBay.
People with a strong sense of entrepreneurial spirit like to buy items at a low price and then sell at a higher price. This takes some commitment, but you can generate a decent side income.
15. Take Advantage of App Sign-Up Bonuses
Cash in on the following sign-up bonuses available through MillennialMoney.com and you’ll find free cash.
Current Sign-Up Bonuses:
- MyPoints: $10 welcome bonus! MyPoints is yet another cashback website that works similarly to Rakuten.
- InboxDollars: $5 welcome bonus! You can earn dollars for small tasks such as taking online surveys, watching videos, and signing up for offers.
- Swagbucks: $20 welcome bonus! Swagbucks is a get-paid-to site with lots of different tasks available to earn easy money. You can take online surveys, watch videos, surf the web, and more.
- Ibotta: $20 welcome bonus! Ibotta is also a cashback site and app. It is most frequently used for groceries but now offers cashback on many products.
- Rakuten (formerly Ebates): $30 welcome bonus! Rakuten is a cashback/coupon shopping site. If you shop online through Rakuten, you can earn cashback on your purchases.
16. Rent Out Your Parking Spot
If you live in an expensive city, you know how valuable parking can be. If you live downtown, renting out your parking spot will make you real cash, fast. People in my apartment building are renting out their parking spaces for $300 per month! If you leave with your car on the weekends, try an ad in your neighborhood to list the spot as available. Put that parking space to work! Or even during the weekdays when you’re out of your spot, if you find someone that has the opposite commute and wants to park at your place, you can make some quick cash every day. One company you can do this with easily is Neighbor.com.
17. Rent Out Your Home
This can work if you have somewhere else to stay for a week or so while someone else lives in your home. Or you could rent out a room in your basement or attic, assuming you have the right facilities. Another thing to consider is combining this with idea #11 up top, House-Sitting. You could arrange house-sitting at someone else’s house for a future week, and rent your place out simultaneously. It’s possible you could make money on both sides. If you live in the right place—a city, the beach, the mountains, or even by a lake during the summer—you could create a nice stream of extra income this way and make money while you travel and your home is vacant.
18. Rent Out Your Car
If you have your own car, you could earn extra cash by letting someone else drive it for the day. Peer-to-peer car-sharing apps like Turo and Getaround allow you to rent out your car for quick money! Getaround provides an alternative to the big rental car chains. You can list your car, set your own rates, and all drivers are pre-vetted with insurance in place. Turo is another popular app to list your car and rent it out to people for easy money. If you have a special or unique type of car, these can make you more money than a common economy car. You can also check out a newer company called HyreCar as another alternative.
19. Trade-in Gift Cards for Cash
You won’t get face value for your unused gift cards, but if you have a card you’d never use, you could trade it in for cash on cardpool.com. This site accepts unused gift cards from most major retailers but not from Amazon. Another option is to sell your unwanted gift card to a friend, online. You can throw up an announcement on Facebook and see if anyone wants to pay you for the card. You might find people are going to shop at that store anyway, so it’s a win/win
20. Refinance Your Loans
Getting better interest rates on your debt can ease the burden on your monthly budget and create more free cash every month. If you own your home, consider a home equity line of credit that lets you tap your home’s equity as needed. Interest rates for home loans are currently the cheapest they’ve ever been. If you have equity in your home, consider refinancing and pulling cash out. This could lower your monthly payment, get you cash in hand, and save you interest in the long term over the life of your loan. Triple win! If you have multiple credit cards with outstanding balances, you could consolidate several credit card accounts into one credit card. Make sure the new card has a lower interest rate and accepts balance transfers. There are plenty of credit card offers that will actually give you a 0% introductory rate for transferring a balance over. Be sure to read all the terms and conditions before signing up.
21. Bank Account Bonuses
[earningPotential amount=”Varies” timeframe=”set up account”] Signing up for new bank promotions can earn you some serious cash. The best thing is there are no credit checks or impact on your credit score. Most banks will pay you a bonus of close to $400 to sign up for a new checking account and make some qualifying direct deposits from your payroll. It usually takes 60-90 days, but afterward, you get a cold hard cash credit right to your bank account.
22. Get Paid to Walk
Gigwalk is an App that will pay you to walk around and perform small tasks like taking photos of shop displays or picking up local restaurant menus. You can work when and where you want to—you can even start making money today! First, download the Gigwalk app from Apple iTunes or the Google Play store and register for a free account. Link your PayPal account to verify your payment preferences, then start browsing the “gigs” available in your area. You can choose tasks that will last just a few minutes, or even a few hours depending on how much time you have and how much money you’d like to make.
Fast Money Options To AVOID
When you need money FAST, it can be tempting to borrow money from questionable lenders or earn cash in illegal ways. But more often than not, this leads people into an even worse situation than where they started. Here are a few methods you should definitely AVOID for fast money:
Illegal Activities
With so many legitimate ways to earn fast money, why resort to crime!? The penalties and risks are not worth the money, no matter how easy it seems.
Payday Lenders
Payday loans are short-term, unsecured loans that are easy to qualify for and give you quick cash. But the downside is the interest on these loans can be upwards of 400% APR! No matter how bad your need is for fast money, avoid borrowing at high-interest rates or you may be caught in an uncontrollable debt cycle.
Credit Card Cash Advance
Some credit cards offer cash advances, allowing you to take out money at an ATM with your credit card. But these also have exorbitant fees and high-interest costs.
All in all, borrowing money is not a sustainable way to generate quick cash. Instead, focus on earning money using the skills and resources you already have available to you.
Reducing Your Spending Will Help
As the saying goes: a dollar saved is better than a dollar earned. If you can spend less money and save more as a result, you might find the extra room in your budget you need. You might not be ready quite yet, but making a habit of saving and investing can pave the road to financial freedom.