I Need Money! How to Make Money FAST

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Sometimes you just need money – fast!

I’ve written a lot about how to earn extra money, from survey sites to selling T shirts. There are lots of great ways to make genuine money online. But some of these can take weeks – or even months – before you receive the money in your account.

Plus, with all of the tools and resources available—a lot of them free—generating a little extra income has become significantly easier to do. Some of these resources include tools for analyzing the current 2023 tax brackets, pre-built Excel templates for tracking invoices and expenses, and in-depth CRM programs for managing customer relations.

But what to do if you need cash now?

If you need to know how to make money fast, I’ve collected a few of my best ideas for you. While these might not be long term solutions, these are all ways you can earn cash or funds paid into your PayPal or bank account the same day.

Don’t panic – there are lots of legit and safe options to make money fast. Good luck!

I need money fast: what can I do?

Here are my top quick ways to make money in a pinch. Firstly, sign up here for my free email course, which will show you how to make £100 online over the next 10 ten days.

And if you can’t wait to get started, read on through the rest of this article for my top ways to make money fast.

Sell your stuff

When you need to come up with some extra money, I recommend starting by having a look around your home for things to sell.

You could be surprised what you can sell second hand. Obviously bigger-ticket items are things like furniture or tools, but even cheap clothes and toys can be sold on for cash, and it all adds up. Try putting together bundles of clothes if you don’t think they’re worth much separately.

I’ve even seen things like old cardboard boxes for sale!

But if you need quick cash, you don’t have time to wait for a 10 day eBay auction. Look for ways to sell locally for cash.

The quickest ways to sell things locally are Facebook Marketplace or Facebook local buy and sell groups, and Gumtree.

If you have enough items to sell, consider a boot fair or yard sale.

If you’re selling items related to a particular theme or hobby (e.g. baby goods, sports gear) you could try advertising in any relevant local community groups, either online or put up a sign in a meeting place.

There are also new marketplace apps such as Shpock or Mercari, but these aren’t as reliable in all areas of the country as they don’t have so many users yet, so maybe keep these as a backup option.

Sell your services

Can you do any chores or odd jobs for friends, family or neighbours?

Here are some quick and easy services you could offer:

Babysitting
Dog walking
DIY, painting, handyman skills etc
Gardening, weeding, mowing lawns
House cleaning
Washing cars
Laundry, ironing
Assembling flat-pack furniture
Help with packing/moving
Mending/darning clothes

Ask around, post on Facebook, advertise on Gumtree or local community pages, knock on doors or put flyers through letterboxes.

There are some apps for selling services such as Taskrabbit, but payment is through the app so it will take longer (and of course the app takes a cut).

If you need money fast, it’s best to do something cash in hand and sort it out in person. (If you’re worried about the legality of this, see my note below on taxes.)

Round up your loose change

Are you one of those people who saves up all their pennies in a drawer or piggy bank, and never takes them to the bank?

This might not work every time, but when you’re wondering how to get money fast, it’s worth checking around the home for loose change. You could be surprised how much those coins add up.

Or maybe you know someone else who has a hoard at home. Offer to save them the trouble of doing it themselves and cash it in for them for a small share.

Go to the bank rather than a Coinstar machine (the machines take a fee).

Also have a rustle around for cash that might be hiding around your home – old wallets or handbags, the pockets of clothes you haven’t worn in a while, the glovebox of the car. You might even get lucky and find a tenner in an old birthday card or envelope you’ve tucked away?!

Lightening Payouts at OhMyDosh!

OhMyDosh! is my new favourite money making site. It pays you to complete offers such as signing up for free trials.

You can really earn money fast on OhMyDosh!

However, if you do need that money in the next few days, make sure you stick to offers in the ‘lightening payouts’ section. You’ll find it in the menu on the left hand side.

Lightening payouts usually confirm your cash straight away, so you can get the money in your account within three days!

In my review of OhMyDosh here, I posted a screenshot that shows how I made £20 in 30 minutes – how’s that for fast!!

Of that £20, £15 was available to cash out straight away, and the rest became available a few days later.

Some of the other offers on OhMyDosh! can take a few days or even weeks to come though, but stick to Lightening Payouts for now and you’ll be golden.

One big warning: if you sign up for any offers or trials on OhMyDosh that need your card details, make sure you set an alarm to cancel them before the free trial ends. Otherwise you could end up out of pocket!

Fast-paying money making apps and survey sites

I am a big fan of money making apps and survey sites. The only problem is that some of them have a high payment threshold, and it can take weeks to see your money.

The sites below all have low or no payment thresholds and these are your best options if you want to earn money online fast.

Note: you will need a PayPal account for most of these but you can open an account instantly. Officially it takes 3-5 days to cash out to your bank account but I’ve found I’ll generally get the money the same day. Don’t bank on this though, and allow a few days to get your money just in case.

Qmee

Qmee is an app and website for doing paid surveys. They also have cashback offers, and you can get paid to search the internet and click on their special listings (although it’s slower than doing surveys). You can cash out at any amount – literally from 1p! But the pay is low and you will be limited how much you can make. Get a free 50p after you cash out for the first time when you use my referral link.

Curious Cat

Curious Cat is a survey app that lets you cash out to PayPal after you reach 100 points (£1). You get about 30 points just for signing up and putting in your details. This app is a favorite with me and lots of my readers wondering how to earn money fast.

Citizenme

Citizenme is an app that pays you instantly to PayPal for very short surveys! Usually just 10p at a time, but it all adds up.

PineCone Research

PineCone is one of my favourite survey sites. It pays £3 per survey which is quite high for surveys! You can apply to cash out from £3, so that’s after each survey. Sometimes it does take a couple of days for your points to be validated though. At the time of writing, you have to sign up with a referral link because they are closed to new members on their main site at the moment – my link is here.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a well known money making website and app where you can earn for various tasks including surveys, watching videos, and even surfing the web. It has a £5 payment threshold but they usually have an offer where you get £3 for signing up so you could cash out pretty soon.

Prolific Academic

Prolific is my favourite survey site because it’s the highest paying, and you never get screened out half way through!

The only downside is that it has a slightly higher payment threshold of £5 (with a fee deducted) or £20 (with no fee). But since it’s so well paying, you can meet that pretty soon if you keep on the lookout for new surveys.

Related post: Ways to make money in one hour (make some quick cash from signup offers and similar)

I also have separate articles with longer lists of money making apps and survey sites to make money, but the ones I’ve listed above pay fastest.

Look for hidden cash equivalents

If you urgently need money, now is the time to have a think about any less obvious sources of money you might have.

For example, do you have any gift vouchers that you’ve been saving up? A gift card (or even cash) that you got for a birthday or Christmas and tucked away for a rainy day? Even if the gift card isn’t the most useful thing in the world right now, you might be able to sell it onto a friend for cash value.

Also, this is the time to use up any loyalty points you have on store cards. Tesco and Boots in particular are very generous, so if you have a loyalty card, take it into the shop and ask a member of staff how much your points are worth.

It’s not quite the same as making extra cash, but if money is tight right now then putting your loyalty points towards your weekly shop is a good way to free up some room in your budget.

Do I have to pay tax?

Remember, if you’re going to be making extra money regularly, you need to register with HMRC as self employed and declare it (even if you already have another job).

But luckily since April 2017 there’s a new rule that allows you to earn up to £1000 from trading or property income without having to declare. So if you’re literally only planning to make a small bit of cash to see you through to payday, you should be alright.

Please note I’m not an accountant or tax advisor so you should check things out yourself with HMRC or a professional if you’re in any doubt! It’s also recommended that you keep a record of all the money you make, in case you get audited or if you do go over £1000.

(Oh – but if you’re matched betting to make extra income, no need to register or declare that at all. Even though it’s not gambling, the cash you make comes under the umbrella of ‘winnings’ – which are not taxable in the UK 😉 )

Make money fast – you can do it!

I really hope this article is useful to anyone who needs to make money fast.

As you can see, there are quite a few things you can do to make some extra cash quickly to see you through to payday or through a tight spot.

Most of these are just short term solutions, so once the pressure’s off, if you are ready to think about longer-term money making opportunities, take a look at some of my other articles for inspiration:

By the way, if you are completely broke and worried about feeding yourself or your family, I recommend this excellent article by Skint Dad. Sadly a lot of people have been through this situation but you have more options than you might think.

And if you are struggling with debt, I recommend the excellent Debt Camel website for free practical advice.

If you have any more ideas for making money quickly in a tight spot, please share in the comments!