Who couldn’t use a little more cash quickly?
You simply can’t get big cash quickly, at least not most of the time, but you can raise some chump change in a hurry with the right stuff.
First, the best way to get extra money is to control what you do have first. Budget yourself, control your temptations to waste money, and in time you’ll find money opening up for you. There are several ways to do this. Among the easiest are to ditch any cable or satellite TV, gym memberships, certain “special” Web page subscriptions, junk food, and eating out. You’d be surprised to see how much you can save that way.
Trimming your lifestyle back a little can help a lot. Use public transportation, or walk, whenever possible. Use the library instead of buying books or the newspaper. As you can, try to grow your own food. Turn down the thermostat at your house. You get the idea. Recently, my wife and I gave up our Cingular phone service to switch to the GoPhone. I hated to do that because I loved my new phone, but the GoPhone has been a great investment.
Second, carefully budget your time and resources and get a second job. Don’t look for something that you can make a career out of (though, you could surprise yourself and do that.) Find something quick, easy, and menial. Fast food and simple retail are the way to go here. Fields with high turnovers are good because little is expected.
Liquidate yourself. The Web has no shortage of places to sell your stuff with little effort. eBay, Craigslist, Yahoo! auctions, you name it. Be merciless with your possessions. If you don’t need it, lose it. My wife personifies this attitude. She’s sold so much stuff over eBay I’ve lost track of it all. My old WWF magazines actually commanded a decent sum. Maybe I’ll let her sell my old Transformers and GI Joes next.
Sell yourself. You have skills that can be put up for sale. Tutor, mentor, teach, sell and trade. Even a little skill can pay off. If nothing else, you may want to take a little trip to the other side of town and sell blood. I prefer to donate to the Red Cross, but I’ve had friends make some decent little money by donating plasma. I have heard of places that will take other bodily substances, but I haven’t located any just yet.