One of the reasons why I got into blogging was because I was tired of scrambling for money every month when rent was due.
Of course, blogging didn’t help me generate money in the short term, but it definitely removed the stress of having to find money in the long term.
However, I can’t tell you how many times I had to get creative to find money for rent.
GET A JOB! is what some people are saying and let me say that there are times when you do have a job and you still struggle to pay rent.
You really never know what type of situation a person is going through so don’t be so quick to throw out solutions that work for you.
In this post, I want to share some of the creative ways that I made a little extra cash to help cover bills.
While these are only helpful once or twice, you never know when you are going to be caught up in a jam and need a quick way to get bailed out.
7 Ways to Find Money for Tomorrow’s Rent
Before you dive into these ways to make some quick cash one thing to keep in mind is that they all require sacrifice. You can’t expect to make quick changes to your life without sacrificing something.
One of the hardest things for me to get over was that I would have to give up something in my life in order to get the money that I needed.
It’s just how it goes.
1. Borrow Money from Friends or Family
I’ve had to do this several times in my lifetime and it sucks. I put this one first simply because it might be the quickest way to get yourself out of a jam.
Most of the time the people I ask are receptive to loaning me some money because I am able to give them a timeline on when I can pay them back.
That’s probably the most important thing. You need to have a timeline and plan on how you are going to pay them back. It’s very easy to get caught in a cycle where you are right back in the position of needing money again if you are not too careful.
Hopefully, you haven’t been a jerk most of your life because you will need those bridges to cross at some point in the future.
2. Shrink Your Wardrobe
If you’re reading this I’m going under the assumption that you have clothes. Odds are you even have some clothes that you don’t wear often or clothes that you can part with.
Selling your clothes to a place like Plato’s Closet can be a great way to quickly earn some money.
Be careful though because you don’t want to get ripped off. For example, you won’t always get the best offers when you walk into Plato’s Closet (and similar stores) so make sure you have a price in your mind that will cause you to walk out the door with clothes still in hand.
There are also apps that you can use that will allow you to take pictures of your clothes to sell to people both locally and afar.
Let Go! is one such app.
3. Sell Your Unused Gift Cards
Every birthday you get gift cards from people that don’t really understand you and therefore have no idea what to get you.
You can always sell these unused gift cards on websites like Raise.
4. Do Chores
For this one usually Craiglist will be your friend. You can find people looking for small tasks to be completed.
You show up. Do the task. And get paid.
You also have longer-term options like TaskRabbit but you will have to wait a little bit before getting paid.
If going out into the real world isn’t your thing then check out Fiverr as an alternative site to doing online tasks for people.
5. Sell Your Old CDs, DVDs, and Electronics
Remember how I talked about making sacrifices earlier? This is what I’m talking about.
You probably have a lot of electronics around your home that you could get rid of today. As crazy as it sounds maybe you don’t need that TV as much as you need a roof over your head.
And maybe it’s time to part ways with that Law & Order DVD collection.
Craigslist again can come in handy here but you need to watch out for scammers.
Decluttr is another viable option.
6. Babysit
Parents are always looking for a night out but finding a babysitter can be a huge pain. Hit up your friends and offer them your services.
If you don’t have any friends with kids then check out Care to see what opportunities they have.
My wife used to nanny all of the time and depending on the neighborhood and time spent could make between $60 – $100.
7. Sell Your Books
You might not be young enough to know what books are but if you do know what they are and you have them lurking around then it might be time to collect them and head on down to your local used bookstore to see what you can get.
If you don’t want to leave your house then BookScouter is a viable option as well.