When an emergency strikes, options such as taking out a payday loan may be out of the question. You can’t or don’t want to borrow cash fast, so it’s time to think out of the box. Here are five creative ways to pay for an emergency situation.
Sell Items You Have at Home
The easiest and fastest way to get cash in your pocket the same day is to sell items you already have in your home. You can sell anything from books, CD’s, televisions, jewelry, furniture, and dishware. If it is valuable to you, it is valuable to someone else. Don’t limit yourself to pawn shop sales either. You can make sales the same day doing the following:
- Host a Yard/Garage Sale
- List your items on Craigslist or Ebay
- Call a friend that has been eyeing an item in your home
- Search online ads or Facebook groups to see if anyone is requesting these items
You may not make all the money you need from these sales, but it is a great start. Also, don’t expect to receive the full value of what you originally paid for it. Remember, it’s used. So, think in terms of what you would be willing to pay for the same used item at a garage sale.
Take Back Unopened Items to the Store
If you have purchased items recently, return them back to the store. If it’s an unopened purchase or still has the tag on it, you should receive the full price within 30 days with a receipt. If you don’t have the receipt or it’s outside of the 30 days, you may be eligible for store credit. Ask a friend or family member if they would like to buy that credit for a slight discount or give you an even trade.
Become a Personal Assistant for the Day
Another easy way to generate cash is to become someone’s personal assistant for the day. For instance, you can do general office work for someone that has a tax or real estate business. If you don’t know anyone that owns a business, advertise your services to help organize a person’s home, run errands to the grocery store, or be their shopper for the day.
Offer to Pass Out Flyers and Business Cards
Go around to a few local businesses in your area and ask if they need help promoting their services. You can pass out flyers or their business cards at the mall, library, or other busy location in the area. Many businesses need this service, but do not have enough manpower to do so. Your one-time-fee should be within their budget.
Check Out Craigslist’s Gig’s Section
Craigslist has a Gig section on their site which people post opportunities they need help with that same day. You can find a gig for computer repair, pet sit for the day, take pictures of property, or type up a document.
Hopefully, the above five methods will help you get your creative juices flowing and scrape up the cash fast in the instance of an emergency.
