I’ve seen so many people over the years looking for quick ways to make money online from their homes, and many of them are trying to earn an income from day one. Some are just looking what’s out there, while others are in big need to make a few bucks as soon as possible.
I’ve been in that situation myself many times. Those days where I have no money left in my pockets, yet eagerly to quickly earn some bucks to make it through the day, or even the week. It has been hard, really hard, and in most situations I found myself losing time for apps and services that didn’t exactly pay what they said they would on their promotions.
If you found yourself in the same situation, there are a few ways to make money today, or if not today, in the next 48 to 72 hours at least – but it strongly depends on your flexibility.
1. Surf through the Craigslist’s job offerings
Although Craigslist is mostly used in the USA, there are many job offerings in other countries too. I saw it with a friend, who quickly found a job offering in another country, just minutes after he visited the website and started looking.
To save you as much time as possible, simply visit the About/Sites page in Craigslist and look at the available offerings based on your preferred country. Once you click on a location, click on the “Jobs” heading to get redirected to the page that features all the job offerings. You can use the available job categories too if you’re looking for something specific.
The website has tons of job offerings, mostly based on different locations, and many of them are for people who are looking for remote work. While its design frustrates you, it only takes a few minutes until you know where to click and where to look. So yeah, give Craigslist a chance, you never know what you’ll find on that website.
2. Use a digital banking app to get a loan
Although you should always be careful with the amount of money that you get from a bank loan, if you find yourself broke but meet the basic requirements, you can use a few digital banking apps to quickly get a loan from $50 to $500 in just a few minutes.
There are many great and well-known digital baking apps that you can use, including Dave, Empower, and Brigit. To qualify for small loans from these services, typically you should already be employed somewhere and have a regular paycheck. This is because these services usually advance money based on your upcoming paycheck.
You must have a bank account with direct deposit enabled, as the loan amount is often deducted directly from your next paycheck. Some services charge a small monthly membership fee (e.g., Dave charges $1/month, Brigit charges $9.99/month), and they typically do not require a credit check, making them accessible to a wider range of people.
Dave offers cash advances up to $500 with no interest or late fees, and the only thing you’ll need to do is sign up, link your bank account, and verify your employment. Empower on the other hand provides cash advances up to $300, and similar to Dave, you’ll have to link your bank account and verify your employment. Last but not least, Brigit, which offers cash advances up to $250 and requires one to pay a monthly membership fee.
These services are designed to help you manage short-term financial needs without the burden of high interest rates or credit checks, but you should always be careful how you use them – you don’t need any more depth, believe me.
3. Get a personal loan from Reddit’s /r/borrow
Yep, that’s right, there’s a subreddit on Reddit – and no, I am not joking here – where you can get a loan from a stranger. Those individuals have made tons of small and big loans over the years, and they’ve helped so many people they didn’t even know, it’s crazy even to think about it. Yet it’s true, and as of this moment of writing, the subreddit still exists and people are asking for loans.
But why would anyone give a loan to a stranger they’ve never met? Well, it doesn’t work like that, not exactly. First and foremost, [you need to read their Wiki](Reddit – Dive into anything) (basically their rules), which highlights and answers the most common questions, both for borrowers and lenders. This is an absolute “must-do”, and like a user once shared on Reddit about the /r/borrow, “In that sub, if there are words, read them. This isn’t to scare you, but to prevent confusion. If you’re a new borrower, this is important.”
There are a few people who have shared their experience with the /r/borrow subreddit, and one of the first that I found is the following one:
Please go to /r/borrow before you consider a personal loan.
byu/QuantumDrej inpovertyfinance
Now, how does it work? Well, after reading and understanding their rules, you can ask for a loan in the subreddit. If a loaner wants to give you the loan, they’ll contact you and ask (typically using some kind of an online form) to verify your true identity and that you’re currently employed. Once that’s done, they usually send you the money through PayPal, as it’s easier for them thanks to the 6-month buyer protection.
Be aware though: PayPal comes with its own fees, as loans are based on their “Goods & Services” rather on the “Friends & Family”, meaning that they’ll keep a few bucks for their services once they send you the money, so add that to your loan too. You can use tools such as TheFeeCalculator.com to understand the amount of fee PayPal will keep from you.
In any case, you’ll have to keep your loaner up-to-date on everything related to your loan. If you can’t send the money you owe them during the time period that you both agreed on, you’ll have to contact them and let them know so you can work together to figure this out. And as a loaner once said on Reddit, “Nobody likes a borrower who goes dark on them, and even if you end up paying, you can expect not to get another loan.”
It’s not 100% sure that you’ll get a loan in the first place, but if you’re broke and in a hurry for some small loans, this may be the ultimate place to go.
4. Use your driver’s license or bike for work
When my brother went fully broke, the first thing that he did was to use his old rusty bike to deliver food. Although in a small city somewhere in Greece, he was making over $50 per day by delivering food from door to door, but many people in bigger towns are making far more than that.
And nowadays, you can skip asking for a delivery job by walking to each local business and use an app instead – although going in person is always a more preferred way. To the even greater news: There are plenty of apps when it comes to delivering food and groceries, so it’s all about making sure that you find out the best for your location.
In many European countries, such apps include Uber Eats, Just Eat, Deliveroo, Wolt, Delivery Hero, and Instacart, while Amazon Fresh and even Walmart Grocery are also available in selected locations. In the USA I believe there are even more options, but it’s all about finding the best choices in your location, and you may even find a local delivery app that’s based specifically in your city.
Most of the time, delivering food and groceries provide flexible working hours, straightforward sign-up process, and they usually have an easy to use interface that you can use to accept or decline new delivery requests.
5. Sell everything you don’t need online
About 10 years ago, I found myself in another city, broke and without a cent in my pockets. My ex-girlfriend, she had just found a job, but we had to wait a week to get the first payment, and I was searching for any available positions, walking and asking if there was a job opening in almost any place that I could find. Unfortunately, we only had food for another day, and our fringe was completely empty.
I had an old computer and a laptop that wasn’t working, so I put them to use: I used a website made by a local newspaper and uploaded the PC and laptop for sale. Within three hours, a guy contacted me about the PC, and I sold it for $150 the same day, as he came by with his car and after checking it, he brought it. I can’t even stress how happy we were at the time – it may be such a small amount for many, yet so important for many others.
Do you have any stuff that you don’t need? If so, there are hundreds of websites that you can use to sell them online. If you found yourself without an internet connection, you can always use your local library or connect to a free public Wi-Fi – just make sure to take some clear pictures of each product.
At this moment, Facebook Marketplace is by far one of the easiest and fastest ways to sell your stuff online. eBay is another great option, but it may take a bit of time until they see what you’re selling and purchase them. It all depends on the stuff that you’re selling and how many people will be interested in buying them, but you get the point. Another great option (especially if you’re located in the USA) is Craigslist, but make sure to also check for any local apps, websites, or newspapers that let you sell second-hand items.
6. Make a few quick bucks for completing surveys and testing apps
No one has ever become rich using those apps (or no one that I know of), but they do pay for what they provide, and they usually let you withdraw small amounts of money. They’re also easy to use and straightforward, and you can set them up in a few minutes tops.
There are three types of apps and services that let you make money: Completing surveys, playing games, and testing apps and websites. Here’s a list of some of the most popular choices right now:
There are of course many other similar services and applications that offer to pay you for testing and completing surveys, and if you want to maximize your earnings you can use multiple of them on a daily basis. You can make from around $100 per month to over $600, as long as you’re using many of them and for at least a few hours per day.
The biggest problem with those kinds of apps is that they won’t let you make more money, and that’s because they’re limiting the number of surveys, tests, and games that you can play, with some of them only reducing that number to their most loyal and best users. Basically, most of them usually will increase the number of available surveys, tests, and games, as long as you’re using them very often.
Although those apps won’t replace your full-time job, they can actually become a great help if you want to make a few bucks quickly, pay for some of your groceries, or even use them to buy things online. For example, one of my friends is using some of those to make enough money to buy his favorite games from Steam and Epic Games instead of paying from his own salary.
Do you know any good ways to make money today or as quickly as possible that may help other people in need? If so, please take the time to share your tips, experience, and personal thoughts in the comments section down below – it may make a big difference to someone.
