31 Creative Ways to Make Money Fast

You’re broke and payday is still a week away. You need to figure out how to make money fast.

Alas, you’ve arrived at the right place.

Whether it’s the end of the month and you’re short on rent cash or you’re just looking to make a little extra spending money for the weekend, sometimes all we need are easy ways to make money fast (and preferably something you can start today).

If you need to know how to make 100 dollars in a day (or maybe even earn 200 dollars in one day) you should be able to find a few options on this list that you can do to pull it off.

On the other hand, if you’re in debt and need 2,000 dollars fast, this list probably isn’t for you – but fortunately $100 and maybe even $200 in a couple of days isn’t totally out of the question.

You can do this.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
31 Best Ways to Make Money Fast
The best way to start making money fast is to get some quick wins. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Take Paid Surveys
   Websites like Survey Junkie will pay you a decent chunk of change for the low-maintenance, borderline mindless task of completing surveys. Companies want to understand consumers better, and one way they do that is by compensating survey-takers. Most surveys pay between $0.50 and $1.25, and many of them take less than 5 minutes to do. You can read our full Survey Junkie review for more info.

Survey Junkie adds new surveys every day, which means you can make money faster than you think. If you’re really into surveys, be sure to check out our list of recommended paid survey sites.

1. Deliver with Postmates
   Postmates’ slogan is simple: “Anything, anytime, anywhere. We get it.”

As a delivery driver for Postmates, you’ll get paid to deliver things like groceries, take out, and even alcohol (which is a genius business idea, by the way).

There are no fees or time commitments, so you have complete freedom over when you want to work. You’ll take home 100% of what you earn every time you complete a delivery, and you’ll be able to see an exact breakdown of how your commissions are calculated.

Here’s how to get started:

✔️ Create your account – Enter basic information, and provide a profile photo and proof of identity.

✔️ Get a welcome kit – Once Postmates verifies you are a real person, they will send you a delivery bag and prepaid card in the mail

✔️ Get the app, go online – Link your prepaid card to the Fleet app, then go online and start accepting delivery offers and get paid!

While there are a lot of factors that will affect your exact pay, Postmates claims that “experienced couriers” can make up to $25 per hour. I wouldn’t expect to make quite that much, but this is certainly more lucrative than some other items on this list (like surveys).

postmates screenshot

1. Get $5 from Swagbucks
   Swagbucks is another great survey site to make money fast. It’s similar to Survey Junkie, but there are also a few other ways you can earn money as a member (including a $5 bonus just for signing up).

Other ways you can earn with Swagbucks outside of surveys:

Cash back program for internet shopping (includes $5 bonus).
Get paid for searching the web (includes $5 bonus)
Watching videos (includes $5 bonus)

1. Get a Free $300 Bonus as a New Lyft Driver
   If you’ve got some free time and don’t live in the middle of nowhere, becoming a Lyft driver can be a very lucrative side hustle that allows you make money fast. And right now, they’ve got a promotion going on where any new driver will instantly get a $300 bonus after completing their 100th ride. If you start now and hustle hard on the weekends, you can probably unlock that bonus within a few weeks of driving (and that’s in addition to your normal earnings).

2. Download the Nielsen App (and Collect $50)
   Have you heard of Nielsen, the company that tracks TV ratings? Turns out they collect data on a lot more than just TV. One area they’re really into is internet usage research.

What does that mean for you? It means Nielsen will pay you $50 a year to keep their app on your favorite internet browsing device. The app itself collects statistics on your internet usage anonymously, so you never have to worry about any data being linked to you. And the best part is, the app takes up barely any space and doesn’t slow down your phone or tablet at all!

1. Link a Card to DOSH and Get a Free $5 Instantly
   The DOSH cash back app has been creating a ton of buzz on social media lately, and for good reason: they are offering free money to attract new users.

Here’s how it works:

Download the app and connect your credit and debit cards (they use bank-level encryption technology to keep your info safe)
Accumulate cash back
Deposit your cash back into your bank account
Perks of DOSH:

All rewards are pure cash.
You get $5 when you link your first card, and an additional $10 for each friend you refer to the app. Get a few family and friends to sign up and the money adds up quick! (Note: The $10 referral bonus varies. Sometimes it’s only $5, but we’ve seen it as high as $15 per referral).

1. Earn Rewards Easily with the Drop App
   Drop is a free app that rewards you for your everyday spending. The way it works is simple.

Once you download the app and create an account, you’ll need to link a debit or credit card to start earning. Whenever you shop with one of Drop’s hundreds of partner brands, you’ll earn points.

In addition to the points you earn for shopping, you can earn more rewards for completing simple tasks. Every friend you refer is worth 1,000 points. You can also earn additional points for integrating other apps or completing a Linked or Mobile offer.

Every 1,000 points is worth $1. Once you’ve earned 5,000 points, you can redeem them for gift cards to your favorite places such as Amazon, Starbucks, Target, and more.

For more details on how to earn with Drop, check out our complete Drop App review.

1. Let Trim Lower Your Bills
   I recently stumbled on the Trim app and I have to say, this one is a game changer. It’s a simple app that acts as your own personal financial manager. Once you link your bank to the app, Trim analyzes your spending, finds subscriptions you need to cancel, negotiates your Comcast bill, finds you better car insurance, and more. And of course, the app is free! My bet is that it will only take a few days for Trim to put an extra $100 in your pocket. So easy!

2. Get a Free $5 to Invest from Acorns
   five dollar signup bonusAcorns is a simple investing app that helps you grow your savings by putting your money into investments designed to grow in value over time. If you are new to investing and want to get your feet wet, this is a great app to start with.

Acorns works by “rounding up” the spare change from your everyday purchases and investing the difference in the stock market. For example, if you buy a coffee for $3.64, Acorns will move 36 cents into your investment account (so you spend $4 total). Over time, these small contributions can add up.

Acorns is now offering a $5 signup bonus for new accounts opened. After completing your account registration, Acorns will deposit a free $5 into your account to help you get started. Read our full review here.

1. Cryptocurrency – At Your Own Risk!
   Surely you have heard all the mania surrounding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. If you are looking to get in on the action, you can do it with the Coinbase app. If you sign up through this link and invest $100, Coinbase will deposit $10 into your account — an instant 10% return!

Warning: Trading cryptocurrencies is very risky, and you should never invest more than you can afford to lose. That being said, you can make a lot of money fast if you buy low and sell high.

1. Find Unclaimed Money
   Unclaimed.org is an awesome site for finding money that’s due to you that you may have forgotten about. Examples: A utility deposit on an account you had forever ago, money left in a bank account you had as a kid, or a check from a former employer.

7 Weekend Side Hustles to Make Money Fast
No excuses here. If you want to make money fast, you’ll need to hustle on the weekends.

1. Walk Dogs in Your Neighborhood
   Rover is a dog walking and pet sitting website that is always looking for qualified dog walkers in cities all over the United States. So when you take your pup on a walk, you can also take a second (or third) dog with you and get paid to walk. 30-minute walks fall in the $10-30 range. With a neighborhood route, that can add up quickly! You’re just a short application away from getting started.

2. Drive with Uber and/or Lyft
   This is a really good use of your time if you are trying to make some extra cash in a weekend. By driving with Uber, you have the flexibility to drive whenever you want, which means you can make money fast, and it’s on your schedule. Pretty slick!

Pro Tip: Sign up with both Uber and Lyft so you can compare fares and keep yourself busy.

1. Get Paid to Let People Borrow Your Car
   If you don’t have time to drive with Uber or Lyft, you can still make money with your car with Getaround. In fact, some people are turning this side gig into $1,000s of dollars per year in extra income.

As a car owner, you can make $5+ per hour just by letting someone else borrow your car. Getaround offers $1 million primary insurance coverage, so you don’t have to worry about possible damages.

Signing up for Getaround is pretty straightforward. Name your car, set the availability and pickup location, and add a description.

When someone wants to rent your car, they can do so straight from the app. You don’t have to worry about meeting up to exchange keys or handling the logistics. Just work, sleep, and live your life while your car earns money for you.

Learn how you can potentially make up to $1,000 per month (or more) with Getaround.

Car owners get paid on the 15th for the prior month’s earnings. Register here to get started.

1. Share Your Home with an Airbnb Guest
   Make the most of your spare space by listing it for short term rentals with Airbnb. If you know how to be an Airbnb host that wows their guests, you have an amazing opportunity to make money fast. By creating a wonderful experience for your guests, you’re setting yourself up for great reviews and lots of repeat guests. Check out our complete guide on getting started as an Airbnb host.

2. Deliver Food with Uber Eats
   Tons of folks nowadays have started delivering food with Uber Eats because it’s is a flexible, easy way to earn money on your own schedule. You can deliver day or night, for however long you’d like. You just sign onto the app, and you can start receiving delivery requests in your area.

3. Make $100 Fast with Listverse
   Do you love to write? Listverse, a popular site featuring tons of list articles, will pay you $100 to write a “listicle” of your own. You don’t need to be an expert—you just need to have English equal to that of a native speaker, a sense of humor, and a love for things unusual or interesting.

4. Be a Personal Grocery Shopper with Instacart
   Have you heard of Instacart? It’s a grocery delivery service for people who don’t want to bother with the hassle of going to the store. What does that mean for you? An opportunity to make extra money!

It works in a similar way to Uber Eats, in that whenever you need to make money, you simply sign into the app and mark yourself as available for shopping.

As an Instacart personal grocery shopper, you will actually be doing the grocery shopping yourself (so don’t crush anyone’s avocados!). Your compensation depends on several factors, like the average size of your orders and average number of miles driven per trip. You can also get tips in addition to the pay that comes directly from Instacart (most people report an average earnings rate of $15 per hour).

5 Ways to Passively Earn Income
Once you get a bit of cash on hand, let it grow on its own with these ways to passively earn additional income.

1. Open a High-Yield Savings Account
   CIT Bank is making major waves in the banking world with their savings account. Seriously, it’s off-the-charts good:

2.45% APY

There is a $100 minimum opening deposit, but if you can swing that, moving your money to a CIT Bank Savings Builder Account is a no-brainer way to grow your money faster. The bank has a 5-star rating from both NerdWallet and Bankrate. You can read our review of them here.

1. Peer to Peer Lending
   Have you heard of peer-to-peer lending? It’s a financial system that matches borrower with investors that are willing to fund their loans. As an investor, essentially YOU are acting as the bank, which is pretty neat. Using a service like Lending Club is a great way to act as a lender and earn interest on your money.

How to Make Money with Lending Club:

Open an account and transfer as little as a $0.01 minimum initial deposit.
Quickly and easily build a portfolio by investing in a range of Loans in increments as little as $25
Receive monthly payments of principal and interest as borrowers repay their loans
Reinvest payments or withdraw

1. Invest in Real Estate (Starting with as Little as $500)
   If you’ve ever wanted to try real estate investing but don’t want to deal with all the stress of being a landlord, you might want to consider investing with Fundrise. Fundrise is a new platform that allows you to invest directly in a real estate portfolio that a team of professionals identifies, acquires, and manages on your behalf. With a starting investment as small as $500, you get exposure to dozens of solid, value-producing assets.

2. Start a Blog
   I’m a huge fan of blogging because I love writing and connecting with people all over the world. To give you an idea of what is possible with blogging, DollarSprout.com is part of a group of blogs that routinely brings in over $100,000 a month in revenue. While it takes time to build your blog up to that income level, you can get the initial set up done in under 30 minutes (no experience needed).

3. Buy Dividend Paying Stocks
   It’s been said that the average millionaire has seven streams of income. Dividend stocks are usually one of them.

What are dividend stocks? They are just like regular shares of stock, but with one exception: For every share of a dividend stock that you own, you are paid a small portion of the company’s earnings. Basically, you get paid just for owning the stock! If you are looking to get started with dividend investing, check out Ally Invest (which is included on our list of best investment apps).

6 Creative Ways to Make Money Fast
If you’ve made it this far, I know you’re committed! Here are a few more ideas you can steal to make money fast.

1. Collect $1 from Vindale Research
   Vindale Research asks for information about you so that they can match you with fitting surveys. At up to $50 a pop for some surveys, and a free $1 just for signing up, it pays to check in daily to see which ones are available to you. Cashouts are through PayPal.

2. Collect $10 from Ebates
   Ebates is another cash back app, similar to DOSH, and right now they are offering a $10 signup bonus. There’s no rule saying you can’t have multiple cash back apps, so why not sign up for a couple just so you get the bonuses? Once you get your bonuses, then just use whichever app gets you the best deal on your upcoming purchases. Easiest money ever!

3. Tell 3 Friends About Ibotta and Make $100
   The cash back industry is ruthlessly competitive, isn’t it!? All of these apps want new users, which means you can load up on welcome bonuses. The Ibotta app is another opportunity to get a bonus: they are giving people $10 when they sign up. Unlike the other apps mentioned in this article, Ibotta specializes in getting you cash back at grocery stores.

Bonus: Refer 3 users and they’ll credit you with $100.00. After that, get $10 for every person you refer.

1. Make Extra Money as a Freelance Writer
   Not quite ready to start your own blog, but still like the idea of getting paid to write? You may want to consider trying your hand at freelance writing. Many bloggers and website owners are willing to shell out some serious cash for high quality writers. In fact, Holly Johnson from ClubThrifty.com makes over $200,000 per year from freelance work! And she has a course that teaches others how to do the same.

2. Get Paid as a Freelance Proofreader
   If writing isn’t your thing, do what Caitlin Pyle did:

In 2014, Caitlin made over $43,000 by working as a freelance proofreader working only part time. After she had a ton of success doing that, she decided she wanted to teach others how to do the same, so she started up Proofread Anywhere. Sign up for one of her free workshops to learn more about how to make money fast from home as a proofreader.

3 Ways Make More Money at Your Job
No guide on how to make money fast would be complete without mentioning the fastest option of all: getting more money from your employer!

1. Get a Promotion
   If you’re willing to go above and beyond and prove your value to your boss, you can move up the corporate ladder. Check out this article from The Balance on how to get promoted at work.

2. Get a Pay Raise
   Getting a raise is harder than getting a promotion. Think about it from your boss’s perspective, would you rather a) pay more money for the same service, or b) pay more money for additional responsibilities. Regardless, sometimes a raise is in order, especially if you have worked for several years without one.

3. Work Overtime
   It’s not glamorous. But at a lot of jobs, the opportunity is there to rack up some overtime hours.