Everyone could use a little fast cash every now and then. While quick and easy money won’t make you rich, you can use money earned on the side to cover bills, pay for a big upcoming expense, or even splurge for something you really want in life.
What are the best ways to make money fast? To help you get started, we’ve put together an exhaustive and practical list of 87 ways you can make $100 or more in a hurry. With so many ideas included, you should be able to find at least a few that will help you earn some income sooner rather than later.
Keep in mind that some of these ideas will allow you to make a little bit of money very quickly, while others require a bit more time and effort, but may result in more money earned. Decide on how much money you need and how quickly you need it, and make a plan from there.
Once you’ve started making your money, don’t forget to put together a solid savings strategy.
The Best Ways to Make Money Fast
The best ways to make money fast are ones you can start on now — as in, today. Read through these top 12 money-making ideas first before you move onto the others we share later on in the guide.
- Reduce Spending by Refinancing Debts
- Earn Quick Cash With Online Surveys
- Get Paid to Shop
- Collect Cash from Microinvesting Apps
- Get paid to drive people in your car
- Deliver Food for Local Restaurants
- Rent Out a Room in Your House
- Score a Bonus with a New Bank Account
- Sign Up for a Rewards Credit Card with a Sweet Bonus
- Get your Bank and Credit Card Fees Refunded
- Rent Your Car Out On Turo
- Start a Blog and Monetize It
#1: Reduce Spending By Refinancing Debts
If you are saddled with student loan debt, mortgage debt, or any other loans where your interest rate seems high, have you ever considered refinancing? For the most part, refinancing your loans means that a lender pays off your existing loans and creates a new, single loan to be paid back at (ideally) a lower interest rate. Many choose to refinance because it consolidates your monthly loan payments, but don’t forget that this strategy can lead to huge savings over time. And remember, you’re not adding new debt when you refinance; you’re simply moving your loans to new loan products with better terms.
Interest rates are extremely low now as well, which means you can refinance today and lower your payments for years to come. Plus, money gleaned from refinancing is really just “found money” you can spend elsewhere in your budget.
How much can you save? Imagine for a moment you have a 30-year home loan for $250,000 and your interest rate is 4.5% APR. In that case, you would pay $1,267 per month in principal and interest on your loan for a total cost of $456,017. However, the same loan with a 3.5% APR would only cost you $1,123 per month and $404,140 in principal and interest payments over that time. This means a single percentage point off your loan would help you achieve over $50,000 in savings.
The exact same rule applies to student loans and other debts you have, which is why you should take the steps to refinance at a lower rate if you can.
Check out our review of the best student loan refinance companies and the best mortgage refinance companies.REFINANCE YOUR STUDENT LOANSREFINANCE YOUR MORTGAGE
#2: Earn Quick Cash With Online Surveys
Online websites like Survey Junkie will pay you for your opinion. The average survey will pay between $0.50 and $1, and there are new surveys available each day. Survey Junkie is our favorite, but there are many other options as well. We have reviewed many survey-based websites, and you can find links to reviews below.
On certain sites, if you qualify, you can even access surveys that pay over $5 each. Many of the surveys take less than 5 minutes to complete.EARN $$ WITH SURVEY JUNKIE
Check out our review of online survey sites to see if there’s an opportunity that works for you.
Learn more by reading our specific reviews:
#3: Get Paid to Shop
If you shop online, you might as well start earning something in return. Fortunately, it’s common for cashback shopping sites to pay a sign-up bonus to new users on top of the cash back you can earn for using a portal each time you buy something online.
Below are a few examples. Simply sign up and collect the cash!
MYPOINTS
- $10 gift card when you spend $20
IBOTTA
- $20 after redeeming 10 offers
#4: Collect Cash from Microinvesting Apps
You may think that investing for the long-term is the only way to make money with this strategy, but you’re wrong. Scores of investing platforms and micro-investing apps will actually pay you cash just for signing up! You know it’s a good idea to start putting money away for the future, you might as well pick up some free money while you’re at it. Acorns is a great place to start. Its super easy, and its 10X New York Times bestselling author, David Bach’s favorite savings and investing app.
See below for some of the best deals.