How many of you have needed to quickly come up with some emergency cash at some point in your lives? I know that the majority of us have had to do it at least once and this is especially true for young people who are just starting out.
There could be a medical emergency in your family, a pet becomes gravely ill or injured, your car break’s down, your refrigerator goes out, a water leak sprouts from your ceiling or your furnace quits putting out heat. A whole host of things could go wrong and they usually do when you’re not prepared for them.
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Looking to raise some emergency cash quick? Here’s a few tips that can help!
1. Look around your house to see what you can sell. If you need the money fast, select one high-value item and sell it. You can list it online or pass the word around to family, friends & co-workers that you have XYZ for sale. You can also try placing an ad in your local newspaper or list the item for sale on the internet.
2. Sell your services! If you need money, offer to babysit for a friend or family member, offer to clean someone’s home, to wash their car, walk their dog, do handyman chores around the house, yard work, etc. These are all great ways to come up with extra cash. Look at it as bartering for your services.
3. If you’re employed, talk to your boss to see if you can get a payday advance. If you work for a small company or a mom & pop type of shop, they’re more apt to work with you on a payday advance. This is NOT a loan, it’s basically getting your paycheck released a little early.
4. If you need money for a “true” medical, dental, food or housing emergency, talk to your pastor at church. A lot of churches will help their parishioners in a time of genuine, emergency need.
5. Here’s an option if you’re comfortable in asking friends, family members or co-workers for a temporary loan. If you plan on doing this…we recommend that you offer them a piece of collateral (an item) to hold onto until you fully repay the debt.
6. While we don’t really recommend this last option, we are listing it and it should be used as a last resort. If worse comes to worse…you can try to apply for a quick bank loan from your financial institution or take a cash-advance loan on a major credit card. This should be your last option to consider.
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These are good tips. I wish i had tried some of them years ago, but I managed to get extra work.
Life can be hard. I remember being in such situations when I was younger and just starting our family. Those are some good tips.
Things do happen sometimes where you need some fast cash. These are all great ideas! We always try to keep a little extra cash around just in case.
It happens. I think most people have had that emergency moment where you need extra money fast. These are all good options.
This was really informative to read and I thank you for posting it. These are great tips and good to know in an emergency situation.
Very good tips. It would be so nice if they taught high schoolers some money management tips too. I am glad you did not go to the pawn shop. I have friends that lose so much that way…. they just cannot manage to get things back out.
Selling stuff is a good idea! I think most of us have just way too much stuff!
All good ideas. I think selling a higher priced item if you have one is one of the easiest. I hate borrowing from anyone. We have had to in the past for a pet emergency and swore we never do it again. One other option if you know you will be able to replace the money perhaps between paydays is pawning. I had to do that once too for the same pet emergency, that worked out fine.
These are great tips Sam! With so many Americans not in a position to absorb a $500 emergency, this article will hit home with many people.