We live in a time where the cost of living is rising and our paychecks never seem to be enough to cover all our bills. Personally, the way I stretch our paychecks to cover our monthly expenses can probably be featured on the TV Show, The Carbonaro Effect – because it’s a magic trick to say the least.
And then the car breaks down, or someone gets sick, or we get invited to 7 birthday parties in one month. Ideally, that’s what your emergency fund is for.
But if even this is depleted, and you really need money, here’s how to make 500 dollars fast!
When things get hard, and you have no money, I understand how frustrating it can be. I’ve mentioned many situations in my other posts where I’ve been strapped for money without a clue what to do.
I know exactly what thoughts run through your head. In fact your mind is a chaotic, jumbled mess of questions, thoughts and utter frustration.
“Can I make money fast?”
“I NEED 500 DOLLARS BY TOMORROW!”
“How to make 500 dollars in a day online fast?”
“How to make 500 dollars in a week realistically?”
“How to make 500 dollars fast without a job?”
“HOW TO MAKE $500 IN A DAY?!”
“HOW TO GET 500 DOLLARS IN AN HOUR?!”
“How to get 500 dollars fast online?”
“WHAT ON EARTH WILL I DO?”
“PLEASE GOD, HELP ME!”
Sounds familiar?
Yes, I totally get it. I’ve been there and I’ve done that. This post will help you find the best ways to make 500 dollars fast so that you can have the extra money you need to tackle your problems head on!
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS WISH THEY COULD LEARN HOW TO MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST.
You are not alone in this journey and the statistics speak for themselves.
According to a Report on the Economic of US Households in 2017, “a sizeable share of adults nonetheless say that they would struggle with a modest unexpected expense.”
Data for this report was collected from the responses to the fifth annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED). The purpose of the study is to actually enhance our understanding of how adults in the US are faring financially.
In fact, 4 in 10 adults would not be able to cover an unexpected expense of $400. Over one fifth of adults are unable to cover their monthly bills in full and over one quarter of adults skipped necessary medical care because they could not afford. (source)
Sometimes you just need to learn how to make 500 dollars fast (legally of course).
According to a GoBankingRates Survey, 35% of Americans are worried that they wouldn’t have enough money to get by in 2019 and nearly half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
Sometimes you just need an extra umph to get through the month… You know… a little extra cash to get by comfortably.
This is why you should check out this list of easy ways to make 500 dollars today! These can be life changing!
IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST?
Making 500 dollars fast is way easier than you think! Seriously though, some of these methods require little to no work on your part!
In fact, many of these are so easy, you may even be able to learn how to make 500 dollars fast as a teenager (or even as a kid!). Not even kidding.
And 500 dollars earned today can go a really long way – especially when you’re strapped for cash.
The great thing about this article is that you can use it to generate quick cash now! And not just for today. Some of these links can be used to keep generating money – once you put in the extra work of course!
So now that you know it’s totally possible, here are all the ways you can make $500 quickly!
HOW TO MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST WITHOUT A JOB – 30 EASY WAYS TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY
TAKE SURVEYS TO MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST
Surveys are one of the easiest ways to make 500 dollars fast. Most of us spend a great bit of our day scrolling on our phones, doing random stuff online.
Why not get paid to do this very same thing?
Survey sites like SurveyJunkie allow you to sign up using their app, answer a few questions and then get paid. It’s as simple as that. The more money you need to make, the more surveys you complete.
You wouldn’t get rich completing surveys but it sure is a simple way to make some quick cash. Completing a survey can take around 5 minutes each and pay from $0.50 to $10.
There’s no cost to join or be a member and you get paid when you do the work. These sites pay you via PayPal which is super convenient and easily accessible!
SELL YOUR STUFF VIA DECLUTTR
If you’re desperate and looking for ways to make quick cash, this is a sure fire way to make a few extra hundreds! It is also one of the easiest and fastest options listed here!
You can choose to go all out and have a full blown garage sale, or you can download the Decluttr app and post your gently used items for sale.
You can also choose to use Facebook Marketplace or websites like Poshmark (for clothes), Ebay and Craigslist.
Charge a little extra for delivery and ship out the item so that you never even have to meet. Just remember to practice safety smarts if you do decide to meet up!
To avoid unsafe situations, Decluttr is a great way to make extra cash with little to no effort on your part. Decluttr is interested in old CDs, DVDs, and old tech gadgets. If you have a stash of these at home, you may be sitting on a pile on money!
All you have to do is download the app, scan the items or manually enter the code, and once your items are accepted, Decluttr will send you a free shipping label. Then you pack the items and ship them.
You will then receive payment via PayPal, direct deposit or check the day after your items are received. Easiest way to make 500 dollars today!
DOWNLOAD CASHBACK APPS
If you’re ever trying to figure out how to make a fast 500 dollars, downloading cash back apps is another great option to try.
Cash back apps are basically those that pay you to shop. Sounds awesome, right?
Let’s say you have your grocery list for the upcoming week and you know what you’re going to buy. All you do is use the app to scan your receipt after shopping and voila, you get cash back!
It might not make you an entire 500 dollars, but it surely will add up in the end if you combine it with the other methods on this list!
Some of the best (and high paying!) cash back apps include:
SELL UNUSED GIFT CARDS
Do you have gift cards sitting at home and you know you’re probably never going to use them? Well why don’t you sell them and make some extra money?
If you’re in the situation where you need to figure out how to make quick money in one day, you need to consider all your options and this one is pretty genius!
How do you sell unused gift cards?
Check out Cardpool to get started. Sell your unwanted gift cards and get up to 92% of the card value in CASH fast!
DOWNLOAD IBOTTA
Ibotta is a cash back and rewards app that helps you earn cash back on purchases made both online and in-store with receipt and/or purchase verification.
To start earning with Ibotta, you need to find the product you want to purchase (reminder: stick to your list– don’t buy items just because there’s a sale). Most products offer a fews ways to earn extra cash.
These include cool little tasks like reading a quick fact about the product, watching a short video, participating in a quick poll, writing a short comment about the product or publishing a quick post on Facebook. These tasks are quick and easy to complete and definitely worth the extra cash in hand!
When you complete one of these tasks, the item is added to your checklist in the app and you are paid cash back when you purchase the product! So easy, right?
GET PAID VIA THE TOP REWARDS SITE
Swagbucks is an easy way to make 500 dollars fast! It is an app that pays you watch videos, play games, search the web and also to complete surveys.
As a new member, Swagbucks offers even higher bonus rates and you can earn up to $35 per survey!
It is absolutely free to join and there are quite a few ways to earn cash. Plus you get $5 JUST FOR signing up!
FREELANCE ON FIVERR
Fiverr is a site that allows you to find freelance jobs online easily. Once you have a skill that you can sell online, Fiverr is the place to get you started!
Graphic Artists, Proofreaders, Editors, Freelance Writers, Digital Marketers, Virtual Assistants and Web Developers (to name a few) can also benefit from signing up to Fiverr.
Basically, you create your profile, list the services you provide and the rate you charge. Fiverr gets its name from the fact that jobs are done from $5 upwards.
You can always offer something basic for $5 and then include add-ons that will enhance your package and increase how much you get paid!
If you have any of these skills, make a fast $500 on Fiverr!
MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST VIA ZIPPYLOAN
Sometimes you might be in a desperate situation where you’re thinking, “I need 500 dollars by tomorrow” or “I need 500 dollars ASAP.” If this sounds like you and it sounds like your situation, then you may need to consider a small loan.
Now, I am against putting yourself in debt – unnecessarily. But sometimes, life throws you a curveball and you have no choice.
In this case, you need to know your options. Zippyloan is a great place to get started when you want to take a personal loan.
You can go to Zippyloan, apply for a loan and they will send your application to many loan providers. Once approved, you can check out the details, e-sign and get your money.
SIGN UP BONUSES ADD UP
These days, when you sign up with different apps and services, you can get a bonus JUST FOR signing up! When you’re trying to make extra money fast, why not take advantage of these sign up bonuses?!
Some of these apps are listed in this post but here’s a quick list of those that offer a bonus just for signing up.
BECOME A DRIVER
Do you own a vehicle? Well becoming a driver might be a great option for you! Lyft and Uber might be great options to get you started.
These apps work by paying drivers a percentage of the fee charged to customers. In addition to this, drivers can also make a killing from tips!
Becoming a driver is a flexible option since you get to choose which days you want to work and choose jobs that suit you best. Money earned varies from city to city but range anywhere from $8.55 to $11.77 after expenses (source).
You can increase your earnings by taking more jobs and taking advantage of peak hours (aka surge pricing).
These extra jobs can really add up to help you make an extra 500 dollars fast!
DO DELIVERIES
Another option to make money when you own a vehicle is by doing deliveries. You can sign up via sites like Postmates or Amazon Flex. In fact, Amazon Flex allows you to have flexibles hours and pays you between $18 and $25 per hour for deliveries.
Other sites to check out if you’re interested in doing deliveries are Instacart, Seamless and Uber Eats.
CHECK FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY
Did you know that there might be unclaimed funds held by the government that might be owed to you?! In this 2013 CNN Money Report, it was estimated that there was 58 billion dollars in unclaimed money – and some of this could be yours!
What is unclaimed money exactly?
Well every year, money is left unclaimed. These include insurance payouts that are never cashed, tax refunds that are never cashed, back wages and pensions that are unclaimed, abandoned bank accounts and stock holdings, to name a few.
When left unclaimed, they are held by the states until the rightful owner makes himself available. Hence, some people are owed A LOT of cash! In 2012, a Connecticut resident claimed $32.8 million!
So how do you check for unclaimed money?
There are several ways you can check for unclaimed money. Check out these sites to get started.
- Visit MissingMoney.com
- Check Unclaimed.org
You know that feeling when you check your back pocket and you find a $20 you had forgotten that you put there? Well imagine finding so much more money than that!
It wouldn’t hurt to check!
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FREE STOCK OFFER ON ROBINHOOD
How does getting free stock sound? Stocks = Money so free money is good, right?
With less than 5 minutes of work, you can earn yourself a free (and random) stock with a value anywhere from $2.50 to $200!
All you have to do is sign up for the Robinhood app (an investing app), receive your stock and then wait three days to sell and cash it out! Pretty easy way to make extra money!
GET A REFUND WITH PARIBUS
You might be curious as to how you can make 500 fast with a refund. But here’s a little secret… all you have to do is sign up for Paribus and you can make some no-hassle, quick cash!
How does Paribus work?
Paribus allows you to get refunds with little to no effort. If you bought something online in the past, the app checks to see if there was a price drop AFTER your purchase. If there was a price drop, you get a refund! Yes, it’s as simple as that. And you don’t have to do a thing!
Depending on how much shopping you did, your refunds can add up to hundreds of dollars!
GET PAID TO OPEN A NEW CHECKING ACCOUNT
Did you know that you could make an extra $150 JUST BY opening a new checking account? That’s right! If you open a new checking account with Chase, they will pay you $150 (or more!)… just like that.
Having an extra checking account can help with organizing your finances and with money management, so it really is a no brainer – especially when you need the extra cash.
The process is as simple as opening your account and setting up direct deposit online. So easy it can be done in your PJs in bed!
Organizing my finances AND making an extra $150? YES PUH-LEASE!
REVIEW WEBSITES IN EXCHANGE FOR CASH
Did you know that you could review websites in exchange for cash? UserTesting believes that ‘a great customer experience starts with Human Insight‘ and so, the site allows users to sign up to test and give feedback on various websites.
Many large sites like Adobe, Ebay and Facebook have partnered with UserTesting and utilized the service of ‘testers’ like you to better their websites. You can get paid $10 per website review.
APPLY FOR A NEW CREDIT CARD AND GET $500
You can make a fast $500 by applying for a new credit card. Many credit cards have sign-up bonuses attached where you are rewarded with points and cash upfront.
This option work best if you know you have an upcoming big purchase to make. Most of these credit cards allow you to access these cash rewards and bonuses after you spend a certain sum.
This is why I advise that you only use these cards for items that you need to buy anyway.
Some of the best cards with initial sign up rewards and bonuses are (conditions apply for each):
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – 60 000 points (about $750 toward travel)
- Bank of America Cash® Rewards Credit Card – $200
- Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card – $200
- Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card – 30 000 points ($300 cash redemption value)
- Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card – $500
- Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card – $150
- Chase Freedom® – $150
Remember to always manage your money properly once you have a credit card and always try to pay back on time so you don’t have to die from paying high interest fees!
DO ODD JOBS IN YOUR LOCAL TOWN TO MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST
Sometimes when you need the extra cash, you need to do what you need to do to make an honest dollar. This might include odd jobs like cutting lawns, cleaning driveways, babysitting jobs etc.
To get started, you can check for ads in your local paper or you can use various apps.
TaskRabbit is a great app to get you started! It connects you with people in your area who are looking for honest and reliable ‘taskers’ like you.
You get to choose your own rate and can apply for jobs that suit you best. Jobs on TaskRabbit can range from:
- Painter
- Handyman
- Yard Work
- Furniture Assembly
- Home Improvement
- Heavy Lifting
- Moving and Packing
Depending on the task, you can make anywhere from $30 to $200 per task! Sign up to start earning!
If TaskRabbit is not your cup of tea, you can try Gigwalk. Gigwalk is an app used by businesses to find ‘Gigwalkers’ (people like you) to do little tasks.
Some of these tasks are very easy and convenient and allows you to earn extra money or in some cases, a whole paycheck! You can work when and where you want to, and earn as much as you like. In fact, Gigwalk states that you can start earning money TODAY!
All you have to do is download the app, register your account, link your PayPal account to get paid and find and complete gigs in your area.
Finding gigs is very simple as they are represented by pins on the map in the app. Tasks can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours to complete and you can get paid from $3 to $100 per task!
Tasks include things like taking pictures of products on the shelf of a retail store, inspecting displays or event promotions or answering questions or short surveys. Tasks like these give feedback to the companies so that they can see what areas of their service require improvement.
GET PAID TO READ EMAILS
What? Get Paid to Read emails? YES!
Vindale Research allows you to get paid for opening emails! Making extra cash doesn’t get much easier than that, right?!
The app pays you for doing various tasks online but opening promotional emails seems like one of the easiest ways to make money. It’s so easy you can do it from anywhere… whilst watching Netflix on your couch, on your daily commute to and from work or even during your lunch breaks!
GET $500 TO LOSE WEIGHT
Yes, you read that right! You can actually get paid to lose weight! HealthyWage allows you to make money whilst getting paid.
How does it work?
Well you basically bet money on how much weight you think you will lose. How much you get paid will therefore depend on how much you bet and how much weight you lose.
There are several options including making a personal weight loss bet, getting your friends together for a team weight loss challenge, or competing in a corporate wellness program.
HealthyWage allows weight loss to be fun and effective via financial incentives.
Lose weight AND no money problems? Sign me up please!
USE THE ROVER APP
Using the Rover app can make you quick extra cash as it helps you find the very best dog walking and pet sitting gigs in your local neighbourhood!
If you’re an animal lover, this might be perfect for you as you can get paid to do something that you love!
What is awesome about the app is that you get to set your own rates and fees for watching Rufus and Alfie. A good place to start is by checking out the rates of other dog walkers and pet sitters in your town.
Rates can go anywhere from $10 to $100 a day depending on the tasks required!
RENT OUT A PARKING SPACE
Do you have an extra parking space or are you leaving town for a weekend or a few days? Did you know that you can actually rent out your parking spot to make some extra money?
Once you’re trying to figure out how to make money fast, then this is a great option for you! If you live in an expensive city/area, then you know how much a parking space goes for!
Take advantage of this by putting out an ad or by spreading the word around. Some people rent out their parking spot anywhere from $200 to $300 per month!
PARTICIPATE IN AN ONLINE FOCUS GROUP
Participating in an online focus group can be a great way to make money. An online focus group is a highly effective market research tool. They are usually utilized for consumer research, political research and business to business research. Most importantly, it can make you money!
Focus groups can be conducted in person (these get you free food and free coffee!) or online. Being a part of an online focus group is super convenient and super simple to participate in and start earning!
Being a part of an online focus group can make you anywhere from $100 to $150 per hour! And it’s as easy as sharing your views on cosmetic products or on political issues!
How do you find Online Focus Groups? Well you can check out some of these sites to get started!
- Respondent.io
- 20|20 Panel
- FocusGroup.com
- Recruit and Field
- Fieldwork
- American Consumer Opinion
- VIP Voice
- Probe Market Research
- Survey Feeds
There are several other legit and high paying companies but these are a good place to start testing the waters.
RENT OUT YOUR CAR TO MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST
We mentioned earlier about becoming a driver if you own a vehicle. However, if you do own a vehicle and don’t have the time, you can always looking into renting out your vehicle.
This can be done over weekends, during holidays or any time that you know you wouldn’t be using it. Of course this might be a little bit of a sacrifice on your end but most times making extra money comes with a small price to pay.
If you know you have upcoming plans – a trip out of town, family time etc. – and it doesn’t involve the use of your car – think about renting it out and making an extra 500 dollars (or more!).
All you need to do to get started is to register for a free account on Getaround and use a few minutes to set up your profile, update your location etc.
The app makes it easy for people to connect with you and everything (booking, scheduling and exchanging of keys) is done via the app.
Working with Getaround also gets you some cool benefits including premium parking, $50 rental credit per month, 24/7 roadside assistance with every trip, PLUS 1 million dollars in insurance coverage on your vehicle!
DOWNLOAD THE NIELSEN APP AND GET FREE MONEY
The Nielsen Mobile App allows you to make money by simply using the internet. I bet you use the internet on your phone every day, right?
Right. That’s all there is to it. You get paid to do something that you usually do anyway. No extra jobs, no extra time.
All you need to do is register your phone or computer – and start making money. You can make up to $100 by doing nothing extra. That’s passive income at its best!
MAKE 500 DOLLARS FAST WITH FETCH REWARDS
This mobile app allows you to make money while shopping. Fetch Rewards pays you to shop from any store! All you need to do is download Fetch, grab your bonus, scan your receipts and get paid.
You can get paid via PayPal which is easy and super simple to access and use.
REPAIR BROKEN SCREENS
I can’t tell you how many of my friends and relatives have a phone or tablet sitting at home with a broken screen. Personally, I’ve never cracked a screen but my kids have had it out for our iPad.
Imagine how much money you could make fixing cell phone screens! If you want to know how to make 500 dollars quick, then this is the side hustle for you!
Because most people don’t know how to do this themselves and most also can’t live without their cell phones and tablets, this might be one of the best and profitable businesses to get into.
This skill is straightforward and not very complicated to learn. You can check out these phone repair guides to get started!
TEACH KIDS ENGLISH ON VIPKIDS TO MAKE AN EASY 500 DOLLARS
You might have heard many others talking about how they make extra money from home through VIPKIDS. And it’s true! You can make money on VIPKIDS by teaching English to kids in China and Korea.
VIPKIDS is an educational website that connects teachers to kids who want to learn English. It allows people to teach globally by working locally (aka from anywhere in the world!).
The platform has 70 000+ teachers and 600 000+ students and is waiting to add you to their list and help you start earning! You can earn up to $22 per hour and you get to pick your own hours and be your own boss.
Check out VIPKIDS and sign up to start earning!
SELL PHOTOS ONLINE
Are you a photographer? Or much simpler – do you own a camera or a phone (with a camera)?
Then you can be making money by selling photos online! If you’re thinking, “I need 500 dollars ASAP!” then this option might be right for you! You can get paid a lot of money depending on the type and quality of your pictures.
This can be a really great form of passive income because when you work with some stock photo sites, all you have to do is upload your photo once but can then get paid every single time someone downloads it!
You can check out sites like Pinterest to see what the most common types of photos are. Then recreate similar type photos since these are in high demand.
Isn’t it amazing that all you have to do is take a picture once and earn money from it for years to come?!
To get started with selling photos online, I highly recommend checking out Deposit Photos.
MAKE $500 FAST PLAYING TRIVIA ON YOUR PHONE
Do you enjoy trivia questions and playing games? Even if you don’t, this is a pretty neat way to make an extra 500 dollars in cash fast!
Who wrote Julius Caesar, Hamlet and Macbeth?
When did the first World War start?
Where is the smallest bone in the body?
Ever saw the TV Show Cash Cab? Well this is like your very own version of Cash Cab! You can earn big bucks for your answers! The best part? You can Google all the answers if you need to!
Want to know how to make money fast? Check out SwagIQ to start earning today!
HOW TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY IN THE LONG RUN – INVESTMENTS WITH A DELAYED ROI
BLOGGING
Blogging is one of the most profitable online jobs you could find! Believe it or not, with some hard work and determination, you can make 6 figures from blogging – and it’s all done online!
Blogging is not a get rich quick scheme though. You really need to be able to put in the time and effort to make it work. But once you do, it’s so worthwhile! You make money, you build your business, you become your own boss and you achieve financial independence!
Once you get the hang of blogging, you’ll no longer need to Google “How to Make 500 Dollars Fast” because you’ll be making SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT! Seriously though, once you commit yourself, it can be life changing!
It’s literally the cheapest business to start as all you need is $3.95 per month for hosting.
INVEST IN REAL ESTATE VIA FUNDRISE
Fundrise is a site that allows you to invest in the private real estate market. You don’t need a lot of money to invest and you can make huge profits on your investments! You get to invest like a millionaire, but with as little as $500!
PARTY RENTAL ITEMS
Investing in party rental items is a pretty great investment as this is something that is always in high demand. It also requires very little storage area and can make you thousands of dollars on a weekend effortlessly.
Some items to consider are a bounce house, characters (something you can easily do yourself or outsource if you can), cotton candy machine, popcorn machines etc.
You don’t need to get everything at once. You can always start small and work your way up! What’s awesome about this option is that you can charge an hourly rate and rack in a pretty hefty sum per day!
RENT OUT A SPARE ROOM
Renting out a spare room can make you a fast $500. However, sometimes it’s not always easy to get tenants. To make the process easier, you can list your spare room on Airbnb to start diversifying your income stream.
Once you get a tenant, you can start making over $2000 a month in some cases!
Check out other listings in your area, see your potential income and make a listing of your own!
LEND MONEY AND EARN INTEREST VIA LENDING CLUB
After learning all the different methods listed above to make extra money, put that money to good use by utilizing LendingClub.
LendingClub makes it a simple process to lend money and earn interest. It’s a great form of passive income and will get you a great return on your money!
LendingClub allows for peer to peer lending where people just like you can lend money to peers in the form of personal loans. It’s super easy to get started. All you have to do is sign up for an account.
MAKING 500 DOLLARS FAST
By now, you’ve probably realized that if you want to make money, you need to put in the work. There are a million and one ways to make 500 dollars fast but you truly need to commit yourself.
The best way to get started is by skimming this list and deciding on the methods that suit you best.
Are there any other methods that you use to make 500 dollars fast? Share with us in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you!
