Seven ways to make $50 quickly

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Imagery Majestic

Dear WAHFAQ,

I need to make money NOW. Not necessarily a lot, just enough to tide me over until the end of the month. What can I do?

If you need to make money quickly, there are many things you can do to bring in extra income. While there is no need to limit yourself to $50, it’s enough to make a difference when you’re strapped for cash. Fifty-dollars can:

…get enough food for a single person for a week, or a family for a few days.

…be enough of a down-payment on a past-due bill to keep utilities from being shut off or a credit card from going to collections.

…can fill a gas tank, or at least get enough gas to get you to a job interview.

And while these suggestions may not deliver cash in hand to you today, if you can complete the work, at least you’ll know that money is on the way.

  1. List books, CDs, and videos on Amazon.com and eBay.com. Remember, buyer pays shipping so if 25 books sold for just $2 each, that’s $50.
  2. List your un-used items on eBay, OfferUp, Craigslist, and your local Facebook selling groups.  Except for jewelry, which should be taken to a pawn shop, (for safety reasons.) These could include small appliances not being used, (good-bye ice cream maker!) sports equipment, picture frames, etc. If 5 things sold for $10 each, that’s $50.
  3. Donate plasma. Depending on your location, you can go 1-2 times per week, at a rate of $25-35 each time.Two donations =$50…and the possibility of saving a life!
  4. Take 1-2 merchandising assignments. Merchandisers are people who set up displays or products, or just scan inventory. Most assignments pay by the hour at a rate of $9-12. One 5-hour assignment at $10/hour is $50.
  5. Check out Craigslist for odd jobs. There are always people who need help setting up a website or Facebook fan page, or with basic graphic design. For those who don’t have tech skills, look for listings who need their lawn mowed, items sewn, junk taken to the dump, or even trade show booth set-ups. One to two gigs at $25-$50 each would reach the goal.
  6. Find micro gigs to complete on Fiverr or Mechanical Turk. The specific gig will depend on your interest or skill set, of course. Finding just 10 gigs at $5 each totals $50.
  7. Complete two apartment Mystery Shops. Mystery shoppers are paid to evaluate customer service, and in the case of apartment shops, they’re needed to make sure the agent is following fair housing protocol. Apartment shops generally pay between $25-$40, so 2 assignments would bring in at least $50.

While you can make money in other aspects of market research like surveys and focus groups, it usually takes too long to qualify for in-person focus groups, (which usually pay around $50-$150), and you’d have to complete hundreds of surveys in order to reach the payment threshold. The items listed above are the most realistic ways to make extra money quickly.

And just think, if you did everything on this list, you’d have an extra $350 in your pocket!

 

Think about all the extra money you could make by being a mystery shopper, starting your own business, or working from home for a legitimate company. Take control of your income and check out our LEARN page for a list of classes, books, and more!

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Additionally, while we adhere to strict standards of editorial integrity to help you make decisions with confidence, the content provided is a means to educate and inform and should not be a substitution for professional advice for your specific situation.

 

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