Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes, you may find yourself in a tight spot financially. Whether you need to settle a debt, purchase something for your children or yourself, or fund that dream vacation, the need for quick cash is a common scenario. That’s why understanding how to make money quickly is crucial.
Who doesn’t like having a little extra money? And, better yet, fast? I wanted to keep this article with real-life options since they are quicker than ideas to make money online. It is also a little more effective than jobs from home.
1. Garage Sale
This is the best option whenever you want to make money quickly because:
- Who doesn’t have items they don’t use in their home? Selling them is becoming easier and faster, such as advertising them on neighbors’ WhatsApp or Facebook groups.
The best tips?
- Focus on significant items you can sell for more money, such as toys, strollers, cribs, chairs, tables, etc.If there are a lot of small things, you can make a package and sell it as a whole, for example, “50 pieces of baby clothes sizes from newborn to 9 months.”
If the thought of organizing a garage sale seems overwhelming, don’t worry. You don’t have to do a massive ‘spring cleaning’ of your entire house in one go. Instead, tackle it one step at a time. Each day, choose a room, a closet, a drawer, or a cupboard. Decide what stays and what goes. Then, promptly put those items up for sale.
2. Sell products
We always have favorite products that we love, work super well for us, and want to recommend, so why not make some quick money at the same time? Become a distributor, enter their affiliate program, or simply buy many and start selling them to your acquaintances, friends, neighbors, and family.
3. Give classes
Are you good at math, dancing, or painting? Dare to offer yourself as a teacher to your acquaintances and neighbors. Advertise, and according to the number of interested parties, you can make groups or individualize them.
Also, if you know Pilates, yoga, HIIT, or any exercise, you can start teaching classes at your home, park, or nearby gym. Cheer up!
4. Sell ready-made food to tortilla shops and stores
An excellent option is to sell beans, red rice, and ready-made sauces to corner stores or tortilla shops for them to resell. This is a great business that allows you to organize and earn money quickly since the items sell quickly, and it is a great convenience for mothers in a hurry with food.
5. Child and elderly care
If you have the ability and desire to take care of children or adults, it may be a very good option to offer yourself to acquaintances or neighbors to take care of their children or elderly adults. You decide your rate and your schedule. For adults, it is normal that it is required during the day and for children at night, and it is always needed, especially for parents who do not have family in the city.
Of course, you must earn the trust of parents or guardians; it is challenging to leave children or adults with a stranger.
6. Rent a room
Do you have a room (or a house or space) in which you don’t live? You can rent it by the month or day/week and earn quick money.
If you decide by month, I recommend using the most famous real estate rental sites in your city, but if you are more interested in per day or week, I recommend Airbnb.
7. Arrange clothes
If you know how to sew and hem and have basic sewing skills, you can offer your services for small alterations to clothing.
If you know a little more, you could even offer to make costumes for children’s events but remember that they are usually in a hurry on those dates.
8. Pastries: Cakes, cookies, desserts
Do you like to make sweets, cakes, cookies, muffins, etc.? Why not offer your services for this?
Remember that you have several options:
- The most common (and best if you are starting) is to sell desserts and simple things from your home at a low price: car lots, muffins, cake slices, chocolate bananas, etc. These are excellent ideas, although you have to do them every day.
- Another option is to work to order for special events such as birthdays, weddings, etc. This requires more knowledge, but it is an excellent option.
- Seasonal: With a theme, at Christmas, they can be cookie kits with hot chocolate; on Valentine’s Day, heart cookies and chocolate popsicles; and on Mother’s Day, strawberries with chocolate and roses.
Of course, what they complain about the most is that clients always haggle, so I recommend that you don’t wear yourself out, define your prices well, and don’t worry if clients “leave you.” It’s not worth spending money, effort, and family time for a poorly paid job.
It is better to sell tiny, at a reasonable price, and make quick money.
9. Professional services
Are you a professional or technician in something and have a full-time job? For example, you may be an accountant, writer, graphic designer, teacher, industrial engineer, chef, salesperson, computer/cell phone repairer, HR, interior designer, or whatever you are. Sell your services to someone else and make money fast.
Your clients could be:
- People who don’t want/know how to do what you do
- Companies that are starting up and do not have the money or infrastructure to hire more
- Small and medium businesses that need the service little
10. Take care of animals
Do you love animals? You could take them for a walk or care for them while their owners are on vacation; it all depends on the space you have available. Don’t limit yourself to just dogs or cats, either; there are a large number of pets that need love from you.
11. Buy-sell
If you are knowledgeable about any product—cell phones, furniture, clothing, designer bags, even cars or houses—you could buy them in good condition at a reduced price and, after repairing and cleaning them, resell them at a reasonable price.
12. Cleaning
Don’t just think about the home, everything requires cleaning :
- Cars
- Houses/apartments in depth
- Premises / common areas
- Furniture
- Rugs
- Polish floors
- Cleaning at heights
You can start with little investment and scale your business by hiring more staff.
13. Catering
I recommend catering for small parties if you enjoy decoration and food. This can go from:
- Banquets for small parties or special events
- Dessert table, sweets
- Wine bar, cocktails, cheeses, pizzas, strawberries with cream, etc.
Your imagination (and that of your clients) is the limit.
14. Music
If you know how to mix music well and have good equipment, you can rent it to play music at small parties.
You could even buy and rent jukeboxes or the equipment to do your karaoke at home.
15. Waitress
If you like customer service and are not afraid of doing a little physical work, you could work as a waitress at events, restaurants, or bars.
16. Driver
If you have a car and free time, you can make quick money by taking people to their destinations. The most famous platform is Uber, but yes, check how much you would have to invest since it does not always pay off. You could start on your own and build your reputation and clients.
17. Sell/rent real estate.
Without investing money (although some agencies give free education if you need a little education), you can be a real estate agent, look for clients, sell or rent real estate, and cache! (Does the sound come from “cash in” in English? Mmmhhh, maybe I need to sleep…)
18. Housekeeper
The golden dream! If your neighbors frequently go on vacation or someone has a vacation home where you live, you can charge to take care of it and perhaps even manage it in terms of gardening, cleaning, etc.
It can be a good option if the owners want to rent the property, manage the house, ensure that it is in good condition, hand over the keys, and obviously take a percentage.
19. Laundry
You can offer washing and ironing services to your neighbors or close acquaintances from your home. The proximity and home delivery service can be a great incentive to have your clothes delivered. Remember that you will need a scale, plenty of laundry cleaning liquids, a washing machine that doesn’t need a lot of water (if you go to a washing machine repair shop, you can find a good brand at a meager price), and a dryer.
20. Recycling
Some people throw away a lot of materials that can be recycled. If you want to help the environment and earn a little money, you can offer your services to collect that material and then sell it to recycling companies.
Another option is to sell these products to people who need them for crafts (such as toilet paper rolls). Then, you could scale your business to companies.
21. Home maintenance
If you possess significant knowledge and experience in plumbing, appliance repair, waterproofing, or painting and can confidently execute tasks related to these fields, please do not hesitate to offer your high-quality services. Your skills will be highly appreciated and could help those needing assistance.
22. Event organizer
Suppose you like to organize, have good taste, and make good deals with suitable suppliers. In that case, you can start offering your services at small events, such as glamping and picnics for special occasions, and then move on to more significant events.
23. Tourist guide
There are two options here: You can be a tourist guide in your city. In many cities, walking or bicycle tours are an excellent option.
You can start a travel agency to capitalize on your love of travel. You can start with small trips within your state or city and expand to other countries and continents. Bonus: You travel for free!
24. Translation
You can offer translation and interpretation services if you know another language. I worked in a Japanese company and saw firsthand the great need for good interpreters and how well-paid they are.
25. Party services
Lately, I have seen a super boom in theme parties, and you can monetize this by making kits and decorations, such as:
- Making Spa Party Kits
- Kits for sleepovers with their teepee or tipi (Indian-style huts)
- Rental of inflatables, tables, and chairs
- Digital or video invitations
- Decoration rental
- “Dirty” kits: water balloons, paint balloons, colored powders, gorilla mucus, etc.
I already gave you an idea; you and your clients can come up with more. It can be a great way to make quick money and have fun.
26. Services for special dates
Every time a particular date comes, gifts, decorations, food, etc., related to the theme always come out everywhere. You can take advantage of this moment to make your “august” and earn quick money:
- End-of-the-year dinners, Christmas dinners, September 15, etc.
- Surprise breakfasts
- Flower arrangements
- Romantic getaways / romantic dinners
- Custom gifts
- Movie watching kits
- Small gifts for school or work colleagues
- Hand-Painted Blankets (Remember High School?)
There are a thousand things to sell on those dates, and you can find one you love.
27. Garden care
If you like gardening, you can offer to cut, fertilize, and take care of the gardens of people close to you. You can even scale your business and offer your services to party halls, gardens, shopping centers, subdivisions, etc.
They also ask to rent plants for decoration at many events, such as graduations.
28. Crafts
If you like to knit, embroider, paint, make jewelry, soaps, creams, work with wood, make rag dolls… whatever, you can do it and sell it through fairs, with neighbors and acquaintances, etc. You can also sell them through Facebook Marketplace, Mercado Libre, and Etsy, and thus, you can make quick money.
29. Sell your hair
This can only be done once every 2-3 years, but it could help you make money quickly and escape trouble. Research the quality and price of hair on the market to know who to go with and how much to sell it for.
Depending on your country, you can also sell eggs or plasma.
30. Rent things
This weekend, I asked my partner why we don’t do more outdoor activities (since it’s not cold anymore), such as camping.
“But we don’t have camping equipment,” he told me.
How often have you stopped doing things because you need the necessary equipment? Do you think only you have that problem?
If you have bicycles, camping equipment, skiing, a grill, kayaks, and even your wedding dress, party decorations, inflatable pools, lawnmowers, drills, vacuum cleaners, everything, Advertise it and start earning quick money by renting those things that only take up space in your house.
31. Sing
If you sing or play an instrument, you could offer your services to restaurants or bars on weekends. Remember to bring your sound equipment, microphone, chair, and everything else you need for your show.
32. Food
Sells food! It is the best option for earning fast and constant money. You can offer desserts, breakfasts for children who go to school, weekend meals, snacks, food for special events, etc.
33. Deliver food
The typical option is Uber Eats, but there are other apps that you can also add. Even without an app, you can offer your order delivery services to a single restaurant or to more restaurants in the area. When you have some, you can start offering them other services, such as taking orders for them and taking care of customer service so that they only take care of the food.
34. Hunt for deals and resell
Explore the process of actively seeking out products or services currently offered at a lower price than their usual rate, with the ultimate goal of procuring and selling them at a higher price to generate profit.
35. Sell clothes, shoes, and sportswear.
Women’s clothing is always an excellent option. It’s incredible how there is always someone who is searching near you. If you offer fashion, speed, and delivery convenience, you can sell clothing to make quick money.
36. Accessories for babies and children
Accessories are a wide range of items designed to enhance the comfort, safety, and convenience of babies and children. These accessories may include strollers, car seats, high chairs, bibs, pacifiers, toys, and many more. Each accessory is designed to cater to the unique needs of children and provide them with the best possible care. From aiding in their development to keeping them entertained, accessories for babies and children are an essential part of parenting.
37. Sell soaps and candles.
On TikTok, there is a whole trend of soaps that look like pastels and are beautiful!. There is a whole trend in skin care and the search for more natural products for our bodies that can help your business. Likewise, making candles is not very difficult, and as long as they smell beautiful, you can include them in the self-care area.
38. Organizers
There is a WHOLE organization trend. Acrylic organizers, boxes with beautiful designs, and natural materials like wicker are in fashion.
39. Sell items for your dogs!
From food to clothing for dogs and cats, dogs have earned a special place in the hearts of their owners. The industry already generates millions of pesos annually. I recently went to one of the largest veterinary expos, and I saw first-hand how well sellers of clothing and accessories for pets are doing; they even had strollers!
40. Online surveys
Earning money with paid surveys will not make you a millionaire, but it is straightforward and fast and will help you gain a little extra cash in your free time.
41. Repair furniture
During the pandemic, there was a great boom of people rescuing furniture from the trash, repairing it like expensive furniture from department stores, taking beautiful photos, and selling it through Facebook Marketplace, earning many dollars. It is a very cheap way to make money fast.
