Have you ever faced a situation where you urgently needed money and wondered how to get it quickly?
At dollarcruiser, we explore money-making apps and uncover unique ways to earn cash. We know which apps provide quick payouts with minimal effort.
In this article, we will discuss effective strategies for making money in urgent situations. Additionally, we’ll introduce extra methods for earning money if you have a bit more time, such as a week.
How to Make Money Fast
- Complete Online Surveys
Surveys are one of the easiest ways to earn money quickly. Companies are always looking for consumer opinions, and many survey websites pay within hours or even on the same day.
Here are some sites we tried:
- MyPoints: After completing 5 hours of online surveys, we earned $12.48 (approximately $2.50 per hour) and received a $5 signup bonus, bringing our total to $17.48.
- Branded Surveys: Earnings for 5 hours of surveys ranged from $1.57 to $3.29 per hour, resulting in a total of $12.54.
- Swagbucks: We earned $7.45 for 5 hours of online surveys.
- Sell Unused Items
Look around your home for items you no longer need or use. Electronics, gadgets, clothes, and furniture can be sold locally or online.
Getting Started: List items on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, or Craigslist.
Why It Works: Selling locally allows you to receive payment the same day, especially for popular items.
- Deliver Food
If you own a car, consider using DoorDash as a way to start earning money today. In our experience, the background check took only 5 minutes. You can sign up and accept delivery requests in your area, earning money for each completed delivery.
Earning Potential: Our test earnings with dollarcruiser amounted to $115.50 over 5 active hours.
Ease of Start: Requires a vehicle, a valid driver’s license, and passing a background check.
- Earn Cashback
You can earn cashback on everyday purchases through apps and websites like MyPoints and InboxDollars.
These platforms connect you with a wide range of retailers, from grocery stores to clothing brands and online giants. They offer various ways to earn money on your regular shopping trips.
- Play Games for Money
Earning cash by playing games is an enjoyable way to make extra income. Platforms like KashKick and Scrambly allow users to earn rewards by completing tasks or achieving milestones in mobile games. These apps reward you for playing games you likely already enjoy in your spare time.
- KashKick: This platform lets you earn money by completing offers, including playing mobile games.
- Scrambly: Similar to KashKick, Scrambly offers opportunities to earn money through gaming or completing tasks like surveys or trying out apps.
- Share Your Internet & Data
You can earn passive income by sharing your unused internet bandwidth. Apps like Honeygain and Pawns enable you to sell your spare internet connection to assist companies with web intelligence, content delivery, or research.
- Honeygain: This app allows you to share your internet bandwidth with businesses for web scraping, content delivery, and SEO research. It runs quietly in the background using your unused data and compensates you in return. You can expect to earn about $1 per day, depending on your network’s data demand.
- Pawns: Similar to Honeygain, Pawns.app pays you for sharing your unused internet bandwidth as well. It also runs passively and pays based on the amount of data transferred.
Potential Earnings: You could earn around $1 per day depending on how much bandwidth the app consumes, potentially totaling over $30 monthly. Using both apps may slightly increase your earnings.
- Offer Local Services
Local services present excellent opportunities to earn money by utilizing your skills and interests. Here are some services you can provide within your community:
- Home Services: Help with furniture assembly, cleaning, gardening, organizing homes, or carpet cleaning.
- Personal Services: Work as a personal chef, caterer, trainer, party planner, or stylist.
- Maintenance Services: Offer car washing/detailing, appliance repairs, window washing, gutter cleaning, snow removal, or bike repairs.
- Specialty Services: Become a tour guide, DJ, home stager, makeup artist, dog trainer, or music teacher.
- Pet Care: Provide pet sitting, walking, grooming, or training services.
- Housesitting/Babysitting: Find babysitting or housesitting gigs through local networks or online platforms.
- Cleaning Services: Focus on niche areas like boat/pool cleaning or junk removal.
- Moving Services: Assist people or businesses with moving their belongings, including packing and transporting items.
- Test Apps and Websites
Become a usability tester to help improve apps and websites. You’ll identify bugs and provide feedback on design and user experience by completing specific tasks.
The Job: Identify bugs and enhance usability for apps and websites.
Pay Range: Expect $5 to $15 per test.
- Become a Personal Shopper
Platforms like Instacart allow you to accept shopping orders, purchase items, and deliver them directly to customers’ doorsteps.
Earning Potential: Our test earnings at dollarcruiser were $60.63 over 5 hours before expenses.
Ease of Start: Requires a vehicle and passing a background check.
- Freelance Gigs on Fiverr or Upwork
If you possess skills in graphic design, writing, or coding, consider taking quick gigs on freelance platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.
Getting Started: Create a profile and offer “quick turnaround” services.
Potential Earnings: Expect $5 to $100 per gig based on complexity.
Why It Works: Clients often need small tasks done quickly, which can lead to same-day payments.
- Find Job Opportunities on Reddit
While Reddit isn’t primarily a job-seeking platform, several subreddits can help connect you with professionals looking for work.
Some useful subreddits include:
- /r/forHire
- /r/Freelance
- /r/WorkOnline
- /r/SlaveLabour
- Flip Free Items
Flipping free items is an effective way to make money by finding things people are giving away for free, fixing them up if necessary, and selling them for profit.
Many people offer items they no longer need on platforms like Craigslist’s “Free” section or Facebook Marketplace. These items can include furniture, electronics, appliances, and more.
Getting Started: Browse this article for ideas on what you can find for free.
Next Steps: Once you’ve picked up an item, clean or fix it as needed, take clear photos, and list it for sale on the same platforms or broader markets like eBay or OfferUp.
Potential Earnings: Depending on the item’s condition and value, you could make $20 to $100+ per flip.
- Donate Plasma
Many donation centers pay you for donating plasma, typically offering same-day payments.
Getting Started: Locate a plasma donation center near you and schedule an appointment.
Potential Earnings: Expect $40 to $100 for each donation session.
Why It Works: It’s a fast and relatively easy way to earn cash if you meet health requirements.
- Refer Friends via Social Media Channels
Referring friends to apps you already use is a quick way to earn money through social media.
How It Works: Most apps provide referral links or codes that you can share. When someone signs up using your link and completes specific actions (like making a purchase), you earn a bonus while your friend may also receive a reward.
Getting Started: Open the app you want to refer, copy your referral link, and share it on your social media platforms with a brief explanation of why you enjoy the app and how it benefits others too. Target platforms where you have good engagement for better results.
Potential Earnings: Referral bonuses usually range from $5 to $50 per referral depending on the app. Some platforms allow unlimited referral earnings as more people sign up through your link.
Why It Works: People trust recommendations from their social circles; sharing apps you genuinely enjoy can attract more sign-ups with minimal effort.
