Top 5 Ways to Pay Your Rent When You Are Short On Cash
When it comes to figuring out ways to pay your rent, the typical answer to folks is, go get a job. But what does a person do when they are already working and the current position isn’t enough for eviction prevention? Fortunately, what’s available today via the internet makes it far easier to solve the rent problem than it was even 20 years ago.
Below are some real-time, actual solutions people are using daily for financial assistance to take care of their bills.
The first step, however, is to look at your budget carefully. Many folks know how to do this, but they stop when the conclusion is they don’t have enough for rent. In reality, folks need to go a bit further and think about what they have now in bills and costs and consider what can be swapped out for other ways of paying for obligations, thereby freeing up valuable cash for rent payments. Here’s how it works with 5 ideas straight from real Internet tools available.
1.) Daily Internet Tasks Earn A LOT Over Time
Idea: Take Surveys, Shop Online & More
How much can you earn: Swagbucks (swagbucks.com) makes it possible to earn the equivalent of $3 a day. It doesn’t sound like much but do some math. $3 times 30 days is now $90. If a person earns that consistently, they can then exchange the equivalent, 9,000 points into $90 of Amazon, Walmart, Target or similar gift cards. That, in turn, produces $90 of buying power at the store for groceries instead of using cash. Now you have $90 a month freed up for rent costs.
How do you do this: On swagbucks is the easiest, fastest way is to earn the free daily points and then do the surveys. Hit the right ones, and one to two hours of work gets you the daily $3 equivalent of 300 points. Then convert to a gift card code when you have enough points. Then load the code into your store website, buy stuff online, and pick up in person that day or later when the order is ready.
Sign up for Swagbucks here >
2.) Get Rid of Your Old Tech
Idea: Just about everyone has an old cell phone, gadget, PDA or similar sitting around in a drawer. It’s time to find them, clean them up and sell them.
How much can you earn: Depends on items, get quotes on itsworthmore.com.
How do you do this: Booths exist in most urban settings but the fastest way is to recycle the gadget via an online buyer (itsworthmore.com). You’re not going to win the lottery, but the exchange will get rid of junk in your apartment and put cash in your pocket.
List your gadgets on It’s Worth More here >
3.) Start a Flexible Side Gig
Idea: Start a fun side gig that makes you $$.
How much can you earn: Depends on commitment, can be up to $1500+ monthly.
How do you do this:
Option 1
Become a driver for Lyft or Uber. Demand for ridesharing has been growing like crazy, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Because it’s simple to switch between apps, many Lyft drivers also sign up as a driver partner with Uber.
As a driver partner with Lyft, you are an independent contractor. You create your own schedule and work as much or as little as you want. If you want to give it a try here are a few of the things to keep in mind: You must be at least 21 years old, have at least one year of licensed driving experience in the U.S. (three years if you are under 23 years old), own a car made in 2006 or later, have a valid US driver’s license and pass a background check. If you don’t want to drive around people, you can deliver food with Uber eats!
Also, your car must be a four-door, seat at least four passengers (excluding the driver), be registered in-state and be covered by in-state insurance.
We talked to Paul Pruce, who’s been driving full-time with Lyft for over a year. He earns $750 a week as a driver. In addition, he does it on his own time. You can work days, nights or weekends — it’s up to you!
Sign up for Lyft here > (earn a $250 bonus after your first 100 rides!)
Option 2
You could invite people into your home with VRBO.
If you’re a good host with a desirable space, you could add hundreds — even thousands — of dollars to your savings account with VRBO. And there’s no reason you can’t be creative. Also, we even found a guy who earns $1,380 a month renting out a backyard unit on VRBO.
Here are a few tips:
- Make your space available during high-demand times in your area. Keep in mind things like concerts, conventions and sporting events.
- Be a good host and make sure your place is stocked with the toiletries you’d expect at a hotel — toilet paper, soap and towels.
- Be personable. A lot of travelers turn to VRBO for the personal touch they won’t find at commercial properties.
Sign up with VRBO here >
Option 3
Why not do chores for somebody? Design flyers? Edit videos? Folks all over the place have work and tasks they need done daily but don’t have the time. Use websites that hire your time out to get their work done for them, and put some extra cash in your pocket for the trouble (fiverr.com). The amount earned depends on how much time and how many tasks you handle daily. For those who have extra time on the weekend, a couple hundred dollars a week is possible here as a second job.
Sign up on Fiverr here >
4.) Online Surveying
Idea: Use your free time to fill out surveys.
How much can you earn: A few dollars a day becomes real money at the end of the month for help paying rent (globaltestmarket.com and mypoints.com). It may also be traded for credit online, which in turn you use to avoid paying cash at participating stores — great ways to pay your rent.
How do you do this: This choice is a bit like #1 where you are not going to realize a big hit in one day, but over time the work adds up. There are multiple survey sites that you can sign up for and be paid online for your time. Therefore, if you are sitting around get paid for your downtime clicking through opinion questions. This is one of the more effective ways to pay your rent.
Sign up for Global Test Market here >
Sign up for My Points here >
5.) Take Advantage of Rebates
Idea: Retailers offer hundreds of dollars a month in rebates that folks don’t take advantage of. When you’re buying things during the month, use the rebate sites to score eligible savings.
How much can you earn: Your claim each month could generate anywhere from $10 to $50 in savings, and that’s cash back in your pocket (dollardig.com). Undoubtedly, money saved is available for your monthly bills.
How do you do this: The key to solving an immediate cash crunch and generating fast money for a rent bill that’s due is to be flexible, creative and use low-cost tools available to you every day. Whether it be rebates, surveys, side gigs or your old tech, make it work for you and the immediate cash freed up can be amazingly helpful.
Sign up for Dollar Dig here >
