Some real – and legal – ways to make money fast

Is today’s economy pinching you right in the wallet? Well, you’re definitely not alone! One fill-up at the gas station and a visit to the grocery store is enough to make you nervous about the family budget. Of course, there’s always unforeseen expenses, such as a sudden auto repair or dental emergency. When you need to make money fast, just to stay afloat, what can you do? Here are some ideas that can save the day.

You’ll first want to implement ideas that won’t get you further in debt. For example, getting an increase on a credit card limit isn’t your best option. This is a stopgap measure that ends up costing you more.

One obvious, but often overlooked remedy, is to immediately reduce your expenses any way you can. This effectively increases your cash flow. When life is proceeding normally, we tend not to curb our expenses.

There are dozens of items that find their way into our shopping baskets that are unnecessary. If you add up the cost of a magazine, a bakery cake, paper towels and the usual household cleaners, it becomes significant. Cut out the goodies and clean the windows with vinegar and newspaper for just a month. Take the time to plan menus that coincide with what’s on sale this week. Careful purchasing for the household can easily reduce your spending by 40%. Here, you make money fast simply by keeping cash in your wallet that would ordinarily fly out.

If you are seriously in need of making money fast, you must explore avenues you wouldn’t normally consider. So, even if you currently have a job, you can moonlight at a second part-time job. Fast-food places and mini-marts typically have more than usual turnover. With diligence, you can be working in a week, with a check by the end of the next week. The amount may not be what you’re used to, but you do make money fast enough to take care of those worrisome obligations until your situation improves.

Making money fast means you have to work fast. Have you checked your garage lately? Chances are, you’ve got a pile of stuff you don’t want or use, which are perfectly good, useful items. Hold a yard sale. Print up some flyers, put an ad in the paper and tell all your friends and neighbors. You can, on average, make $200-300 in a weekend.

Check your closets for clothes you no longer wear. Consignment shops pay cash for clothes in good condition. Not a fortune, but you do make money fast. Walk in with clothes, come out with cash.

With the price of gold topping $1000 per ounce, pawn shops should not be discounted as a resource. Gold jewelry fetches a sizable amount of cash. Remember that these are loans. If not repaid, you forfeit the jewelry.

Fast cash always involves sacrifice, but at times it’s your only option. Good luck!