Feeling Super Broke? Here Are 5 Quick Ways To Get Fast Money
By The Money Manual 
Let’s be all the way real: With today’s rising cost of living, the average weekly earnings of Americans in 2021 sitting at about $1,003, and don’t forget Uncle Sam has to take his cut too, most people just don’t have enough cash to make ends meet all of the time.
How are we supposed to pay rent, gas, and all of the bills, let alone have a healthy savings in case the next world catastrophe hits, or bother even trying to invest?
Sure, you could get a second job on top of your 40-hour workweek (say goodbye to your social life), or you could fill the gaps in with the alternatives below. They don’t pay a ton on their own, but commit to doing a couple of them regularly in your free time and you’ll have the cash you need before you know it.
These ideas will help you get fast money, are free and easy to use and they’ll allow you to make a consistent money saving effort. Be sure to check out the details about the requirements, how much you can expect to make and how fast you can get your money.
Get Money Quick With These Survey Apps That Pay Fast Money
Branded Surveys
Branded surveys is a paid survey hub that matches you with surveys that are provided by market research clients on behalf of Fortune 500 companies. These companies depend on your honest feedback. You are matched with client surveys based on the information you provide in your user profile (the more details you provide in your profile, the better). You’ll never spend time taking a survey you don’t care about.
When you complete an activity and your answers are recorded and approved, you get rewarded with points. Just collect at least 500 points to redeem for cash via PayPal, your Branded Pay account, or get gift cards for various retailers and restaurants.
Join the Branded Surveys community to earn money fast any time you need it.
Branded Surveys In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: 18+ years of age or parental consent for 13-17 year olds, sign up and create a profile
- How Much $: 1 point = $0.01 USD, earn $10 to $25 or more a month if you complete a few surveys each day, 500 point threshold to cash out points for rewards
- Payment Time: Receive your payment within 3 business days
Swagbucks
The Swagbucks app is one of our favorite options for earning free gift cards and free stuff.
Here’s how to earn with Swagbucks:
- Answer – Take surveys and polls on anything from products and brands you shop to the kind of food you like to eat to travel preferences
- Watch – Watch videos on a variety of topics like sports, world and entertainment news and more
Doing these activities earns you points you can exchange for cash via PayPal and gift cards from Visa, Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and more.
Swagbucks gives out 7,000 gift cards every day and since 2014 has already paid out more than $629,535,359 (as of the time of this writing) in cash rewards to its members.
Swagbucks In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Account signup, 13 years of age+
- How Much $: $10 for signup, Average Swagbucks user earns between $25 and $100 in PayPal cash or gift cards monthly, 100 SB = $1.00
- Payment Time: 10 business days to receive your reward
Survey Junkie
Are you the kind of person that actually takes the time to write reviews for the products and services you use? If so, you’re a hot commodity for brands and market research companies and should really start cashing in on your value.
We highly suggest Survey Junkie as one of our favorite paid survey hubs with one of the best online rewards programs for earning cash via Paypal, e-gift cards and bank transfers. It has a Trustpilot rating of 4.4 resulting from nearly 30,000 reviews, 20 million members and pays out over $1 million to members monthly.
You’ll get paid to take surveys based on your interests that cover topics like advertising effectiveness, product appeal, brand recognition, etc. The app adds tons of new opportunities to earn every day.
Pro Tip: We recommend doing at least three a day, which can earn you as much as $40 a month.
Survey Junkie In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Account signup and profile creation, 16 Years Old +
- How Much $: Earn $0.50 to $3 Per Survey on average, $5 (500 point) threshold paid in PayPal or e-gift cards and bank transfers
- Payment Time: Instant cash out for PayPal
Make Fast Money Sharing Your Opinions With These Apps
InboxDollars
In between paychecks, with a cellphone bill coming up, and not enough to cover it? Then you’ve gotta check out InboxDollars.. It can help you make up the difference (pretty quickly).
Big brands want people like you to watch short snippets of movie trailers or product features and give their feedback. They pay InboxDollars, which then recruits people like us to give their feedback for actual cash.
The free $5 welcome bonus is just another reason to sign up today.
Pro Tip: People who earn the most on InboxDollars know that it’s important to stick with it for at least an hour at a time, so you start getting fed the highest-paid activities.
People swear by this:
InboxDollars In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Account signup, 18 Years Old +
- How Much $: Average $0.10 – $5 Per survey, $5 sign-up bonus, $15 minimum to redeem your first payment, $10 for payments thereafter, money is paid via PayPal, e-gift cards, gift cards or Visa
- Payment Time: up to 10 business days for PayPal and gift cards, 3-5 business days for e-gift cards
Make Fast Money On Every Grocery Store Run…Every. Single. One.
Ibotta
Have you ever put off going to the grocery store because money’s tight? Then, one day you go to open your fridge only to barely find enough to make a meal (oops)? Trust us, you’re not the only one. Some weeks are tougher on the wallet than others and on those days, you need to put your inner penny-pincher to good use with Ibotta, the app that actually pays you every time you shop. I repeat: it pays you to shop.
With the app on your phone, earning money on your groceries is as easy as taking a picture of your receipt. Use Ibotta to scan your receipt for deals and watch as the app instantly applies cash back to your Ibotta account. It works at a ton of grocery stores, from Aldi to Costco to Whole Foods, so you won’t miss an opportunity to earn.
A few of the deals we spotted:
- $30.00 cashback Whirlpool Top Load Washer
- $30.00 cashback HelloFresh
- $1.00 cashback Perdue Fresh Ground Chicken
- $1.50 cashback Zatarain’s Sausages
Just look at all the rave reviews people are shouting about:
Ibotta In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: App download and signup, 18 years old+, Connect to Paypal, $20.00 minimum in current earnings, and one of the earnings must be provided by redeeming a name-brand offer, in order to withdraw, must redeem first qualifying offer within the timeline for your particular bonus
- How Much $: $20 at signup, $10-$20/month average, top users can make as much as $300/month
- Payment Time: PayPal or Venmo transfers will usually be completed within 2 hours, during high traffic times expect the withdrawal to take from 1 – 3 business days to transfer, e-gift cards are emailed within 24 hours, bank transfers
Drop
Drop earns you cash and gift cards for shopping at your favorite stores. Download the app, pick five stores from its list of partner retailers, link a card and shop.
Every time you make a purchase at your chosen stores in-person or online through the app, you’ll earn Drop points. Points are then redeemed for gift cards to your top five and any of the other stores available through the app. You can earn gift cards to places like Starbucks, Netflix, Amazon and more.
You can easily earn $10-$30 in free rewards each year with minimal effort and some of Drop’s more lucrative shopping options will earn $100+.
Drop In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: App download and signup, 18 years old+, connect to credit or debit card, 5,000 points per week earning cap
- How Much $: $5 at signup, 1 Drop point=$0.01 USD, 1% – 2% back on their purchases, $25 minimum to redeem for a gift card
- Payment Time: Within 3 business days
Win Money With Mobile Games That Pay Fast Cash
Ever catch yourself sitting around itching to play some games? Imagine making a little extra side cash playing games you love on your phone. These offers can get you that extra cash in no time. We have some great ways to earn money by playing games on android too (keep an eye out for these specific offers).
Mistplay
This mobile game platform (for Android phones) provides users with a list of games customized to their preferences to earn money from.
Here’s what you do: pick a game from the app’s mixlist, download and play. The more games you play, the more points you earn.
Trade your points in for Visa cash cards or gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, iTunes, Xbox Store, Playstation Store and more.
Mistplay In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: App download and signup, 18 Years Old +, phone number verification, Android phone
- How Much $: Up to $50/month, minimum payout amount is $5 gift card
- Payment Time: Receive your gift card within 48 hours via email
Cashyy
Are you looking to make extra money while having fun? Download Cashyy for free (for Android phones). Discover missions and play new games every day from their list. After you achieve your missions you earn coins.
Then you can exchange your coins for gift cards such as Amazon or Google Play coupons, PlayStation cards, Zalando vouchers, or you can simply get your cash directly on your PayPal account. You’ll earn coins for every minute of play and can track the evolution of your earnings on Cashyy.
Trade earned coins for gift cards or receive money on your Paypal account.
Cashyy In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: App download and signup, 13 years old+, pay out amount is in EUROs in all countries, Android phone
- How Much $: $0.50 minimum for payout to Paypal
- Payment Time: Same day or next day payout
KashKick
Cash for gaming is one of the greatest rewards and while most people know Kashkick because of the paid survey opportunities, they also give cash for other activities that only take a small amount of free time, such as playing games (for Android phones).
There is an entire page on KashKick showcasing all of their “get-paid-to” offers. How much you’ll get paid for each is prominently displayed next to each offer so it’s easy to figure out which you want to do. Our go-to is always earning cash for playing games.
KashKick payout thresholds starts at just $10 at a time. Get started earning cash playing mobile games via KashKick.
KashKick In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: App download and signup, PayPal account, set up profile, Android phone
- How Much $: $10 threshold for payouts
- Payment Time: 2 weeks for each payout period
Rewarded Play
Love Solitaire, Mahjong, Wheel of Fortune, Yahtzee or any of these other fantastic classic games? Rewarded Play is an Android app that lets you earn cash quickly just for casually gaming. Play your favorite classic games on Rewarded Play to earn points.
Points add up fast and when you’re ready to cash out, you’ll get the gift card of your choosing from Amazon gift cards, Best Buy gift cards, Target gift cards and more. Download Rewarded Play and start earning all the rewards.
Turn the downtime you use to play mobile games into a fast way to earn cash whenever you’re bored and ready to play.
Rewarded Play In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: App download and signup, 5,000 points cap per day, Android phone
- How Much $: $25/month, $5 threshold for payouts
- Payment Time: 48 Hours
Lucktastic
Lucktastic is a free app (for Android phones) that offers free daily scratch card games that can score you some serious cash and the app’s tokens, which you can use to enter contests with more cash prizes. We know what you’re wondering: Is it legit? Well, 220,000 people have already scored major rewards with the app so far and has given away more than $3 million in cash and prizes since 2012.
The app adds new games every day so there’s always a chance to win, plus consecutive days of gameplay will earn you daily rewards ranging from bonus tokens to contest entries. Lucktastic’s biggest scratch card prize is $2,500.
Lucktastic also has sweet contests going on:
- $1 Million dollar jump ramp jackpot,
- Win a trip for 4 to Universal Orlando Resort® in Orlando, FL
- Enter lucktastic’s sweet money contest to win up to $100,000
- Enter to win a chance to see your favorite band with the Rock On contest- score $1,000 to help cover your tickets, refreshments, and even a night away
- Win $1500 for the destination fall get-away of your choice.
Lucktastic In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Begin redeeming your tokens for $5 gift cards once your balance reaches 30,000 tokens, App download and signup, Android phone
- How Much $: $5 min to cash out, digital gift cards: Balances between $5 to $14.99, Paper check: Balances of $15 and above, Visa gift card: Balances of $100 and above
- Payment Time: Some rewards are instant, Contest winnings take up to 4 weeks to receive
Get Paid Quick With These Side Hustles That Pay Fast Money
Side hustles are the moderate road to making extra money that will take some time to do but can have huge payouts with doing things in your spare time. Don’t have any weekend plans? Why not make some extra cash. Here are some easy ideas that anyone can pick up and do.
DoorDash
To make some extra cash you could become a Dasher for DoorDash. You’ll mainly deliver food to your local area (though you can sign on wherever you are- there’s no location requirement like there is with Uber Eats), and you can use a bike or car.
You can also earn tips to increase your earnings by communicating order status and being extra friendly during each delivery.
You’re the boss and you manage your time and your personal goals. Drive, deliver, and earn with DoorDash. Get paid quickly with Fast Pay and DoorDash will transfer your earnings instantly. Their base pay offer is between $2 and $10+ based on the estimated time, distance and desirability of the offer.
Remember, you’ll be considered an independent contractor, so you’ll need to handle your taxes at the end of the year and set aside a bit each time you Dash to pay those taxes.
DoorDash In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Some form of reliable transportation, car or bike, approval may take up to a week, app download and signup
- How Much $: $2-$10+/ delivery base pay
- Payment Time: Weekly payout on Sundays, can opt for Fast Pay to get paid instantly
Steady
Steady is the gateway to the gig economy and is home to over 1.5 million verified job opportunities. Think of it as a centralized platform with a variety of gigs available. Steady offers company profiles that let you compare different opportunities and choose the best for you.
Whether you’re looking to fill in gaps in your income, just want to make enough money to achieve a specific financial goal, or are looking to have multiple income sources in your back pocket, Steady can help you find the jobs that fit your schedule and income needs.
Steady has 2.5 million+ members and says its members make an average of over $5,500 a year in extra income. You can find work from home, anytime work, part-time and full-time work, and new opportunities using Steady.
Beyond job searching, Steady also provides financial assistance by way of emergency cash grants of $100 to $1,000 through a partnership with The Workers Lab. Benefits like this are pretty unheard of on a job search app and make Steady unique and very helpful if you need fast money.
Steady In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Depends on the gig you choose
- How Much $: Average $5,500/year, Average $10-15 per hour
- Payment Time: Depends on the gig you choose
Caretaking Side Hustles For Fast Money
There are a few options when it comes to taking care of people, places, or things. These ideas can help put some extra money in your pocket when you’re short on cash and generally without having to make a huge commitment (though you can if you want). Think about it, taking care of some cute pets one weekend, or hanging with some elderly folks here and there can both be fun and rewarding to more than just your wallet.
Consider these caretaking side hustles:
Babysitting
Hanging with some kiddos and making a few bucks extra can be a great way to pad your bank account. One time gigs (think wedding day or special event child care for couple’s or their family members), occasional weekends or weeknights looking after people’s children are options to think about if you are looking for quick money. The parents in need of your help will usually pay you for your time on the same day that you look after their kids.
Hourly wages for babysitting will depend on how many children you are caring for (multiple kids will cost the parents more but be a better value for them). The parents’ expectations of what you will do with the kids such as transportation needs, overnight care or special activities can garner you a higher hourly rate. Expect to be able to negotiate a minimum of $10 to $25 an hour depending on your location.
A one time 8 hour gig to help keep some kids entertained for a special occasion could easily add $200 to your bank account that day. And tips are usually to be expected too. Not a bad way to make some extra bank.
Babysitting In A Nutshell
- Requirements: Background checks, experience, special certifications can help
- How Much $: $10-$25/Hr depending on situation, experience and number of children, 15-20% tips usually included
- Payment Time: Regular weekly gigs may be paid weekly or bi-weekly, one time gigs can expect to be paid on the same day
House Sitting
House sitting is a service you can provide where a homeowner entrusts you to care for their property, possessions and oftentimes their pets, for a specified period of time such as when they leave for a vacation or have a work trip planned. Sitters either get to live onsite at a property or drop by regularly to do things for the homeowner such as:
- Taking care of pets
- Watering plants
- Taking out trash
- Looking after the home and keeping it clean
- Organizing occasional maintenance
- Accepting mail and packages
- Generally making sure that everything runs smoothly while the owner is away
- Making the house look occupied
House sitters’ pay can vary widely depending on the type of work they are expected to handle and the location of the job. The average is $25-$45/day (don’t quit your day job) but can be as high as $70+/day. This is the type of work you would want to do if your regular job is a work remote situation as you’ll likely be able to just hang out at the home and use your computer to work as you normally would and just make time here and there through your day to manage the other responsibilities. You get the house sitting money as a bonus. It’s not a bad gig especially if you’re interested in traveling to new areas.
House Sitting In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Background checks, Experience
- How Much $: $18-$27/hr, $718-$1,068/Week
- Payment Time: If paid hourly for a shorter period expect to be paid upon the homeowner’s return, If paid weekly you can negotiate partial payment upfront and final payment upon the homeowner’s return
Elderly Companionship
Did you know that one in three adults 45 and up in the US feel lonely?
“Loneliness, especially as it relates to social isolation factors, has very real consequences for people’s health,” AARP President Lisa March Ryerson said on the foundation’s website. “Studies show that isolation and loneliness are as bad for health as obesity or smoking.”
The idea here is not to be a professional elderly caretaker, with responsibilities like providing healthcare or bathing assistance. You basically get paid to hang out with someone who just needs you to keep them company occasionally and perhaps help them with very light chores.
You can do anything from simply spending an hour visiting with them to chat and listen, to providing some assistance with regular daily tasks such as running errands or accompanying them to do the errands like grocery shopping, meal prep and cooking, light cleaning, and traveling to appointments or leisure activities.
This type of gig can pay up to $20/hour depending on where you are and your experience level. It’s usually flexible for how much time you will commit and can be as low as just a few hours a month or more if you like.
To become an elderly companion, the requirements are minimal and include holding a high school diploma (or whatever equivalent). Then depending on where you are some jobs may require that you complete a basic caregiver training course. However some elderly companion caregiver jobs will provide on the job training.
Check out Papa Pals or Mon Ami if you’re interested.
Elderly Companionship In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Some basic training may be required, Some programs may require a minimum time commitment
- How Much $: Up to $3,000 per month, approximately $15-$20/hr
- Payment Time: Payment time varies depending
Freelancing For Fast Money
Turn the skills that you utilize at work into extra dollars in your free time and start freelancing. If you are a writer, designer, or photographer, you can sell your skills and produce much needed content for businesses.
Ever wonder how so many stock photos are produced for the web? Photographers who snap a photo of an image and sell it to sites like Shutterstock can make a little extra cash here and there after a weekend of taking photos while out and about. Payments are usually sent between the 7th and 15th day of the month (unless the 7th is on a weekend or holiday).
As a Shutterstock contributor, your earnings are based on how much your work is bought by the customers on the Shutterstock site. You earn between 15-40% of the price Shutterstock receives for licensing your content. They have 6 separate earnings levels for images and for videos, and as your work gains more traction, you’ll earn more commission.
Web developers and app creators can freelance, too. It’s a great way to pick up side gigs in between your paychecks and sites like Upwork or Fiverr will pay pretty quickly. It takes up to 48 hours for your funds to clear on your Fiverr Revenue card. But for a small $3 fee they’ll pay you within 2 hours. The minimum withdrawal amount from Fiverr to Payoneer is $5.
For Upwork, hourly projects are billed weekly and you’ll get paid 10 days after the billing period ends, assuming of course you and the client are satisfied.
Think about it, one or two side projects per month could earn you a couple thousand extra dollars over the span of a year. But as always remember to keep track of your taxes when you do freelance work.
Freelancing In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Your time and your skillset
- How Much $: Payment is variable based on what you are doing as your freelance side hustle
- Payment Time: Platform dependent- can be nearly instant for a small fee
Test Websites For Fast Money
We have all come across the occasional cringe worthy website that is in desperate need of some UI overhauling. Give your feedback on these sites to help them improve, and get paid quickly for your time and tips.
Respondent is a site that values your professional opinion for websites that need it. And they’re willing to pay big money for that valuable feedback. Make between $100-$700/hr just for giving some solid advice to a website owner.
Testing Websites In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Your time and your skillset, Skilled professionals, Select a time that fits your schedule.
- How Much $: $100-$700/hr
- Payment Time: Payments are usually processed within 8-10 days
For those who are not at that skill level to take advantage of Respondent, User Testing is a great option. You spend 20 minutes recording your live feedback as you navigate a site and 1 week later, you’re $15 richer. Not bad.
- Requirements: Sample test review, Working microphone + Solid internet connection, PayPal account for payment
- How Much $: $10 – $15 for each 20 minutes of responses you give, $3 for a five-minute test
- Payment Time: 7 days after completing your website or app test
Get Fast Money With Signup Bonuses
Credit cards
Credit cards are always coming up with sign up bonuses to get you some fast money. Of course keep in mind you need to be on top of your credit score and use the card responsibly. You can’t always qualify for a new card. You want to make sure those cards you do qualify for are going to be paid off every month to maintain and boost your credit score and stay out of debt.
Some cards get you cashback after you meet certain terms in the first few months. Usually, spend x amount of dollars in the first 90 days and you’ll earn a cash back bonus, points, airline miles or hotel stays.
Always keep an eye on the annual fees (aim for the $0 annual fee cards, naturally), the interest rates, and the fine print that tells you all the details you’ll need to know.
Pro-Tip: Sign up for a credit monitoring app like Credit Karma to stay on top of your score!
Credit Card Signups In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: Good credit score requirements vary by offer
- How Much $: Rewards can amount to a few hundred dollars to thousands of air miles depending on the offer
- Payment Time: Usually 90 days
Bank Accounts & Online Money Accounts
Similar to credit cards, banks are always after your business and are often ready to pay up some good signup bonuses if you’re able to meet their requirements. They want to know you are with them to stay at least for a bit so be prepared to stick around for a while. You won’t be seeing the money usually for at least 90 days for most deals.
Bank account signup bonuses usually come in the form of cash back and can range from $100 to $750. Generally speaking, the higher the reward, the more money you’ll need to deposit and often they want you to sign up for direct deposits of a certain amount and for a minimum amount of time (usually at least 90 days).
Things to look out for include account maintenance fees, account minimums, average monthly account balances, overdraft fees, and other fine print details. If you’re going to switch banks to snag a signup bonus, make sure you like the bank. Do they have solid customer service? Are they FDIC insured? Are they available to you wherever you are located? Do they have a reliable mobile app?
Your earnings depend on fees and the balance you have in your checking account. Usually, most banks and institutions will require a deposit of new money, aka, don’t just open a new account at your bank you already use, and transfer your money. The rates and fee structures for checking accounts are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate in accordance with the federal funds rate.
Bank account signup bonuses are always fluctuating. Check some current deals out here.
Bank Account Signups In A Nutshell:
- Requirements: New account holder
- How Much $: Rewards range from $100-$750
- Payment Time: Usually 90 days
Other Sign Up Bonuses For Fast Money
Some services want your business and they’re willing to give you a great deal just for signing up.
Blue Apron is offering a deal right now to get you $110 back in your pocket over the first 4 delicious boxes of meals you buy. Enjoy $110 off across 4 boxes—plus, your first box ships free
Hello Fresh has 14 free meals (you read that right) if you sign up right now. That’s a ton of money you don’t have to spend at the grocery store or going out to eat that gets to stay in your wallet. Sign up now and get your free food.
Caviar has a solid referral program and these folks are happy to let you use their Caviar referral codes to get you $20 off when you sign up to have the city’s best restaurants delivered straight to your door.
Bonus:
Sign up now for Robinhood if you want a signup bonus that keeps on giving. Up to $200 in stocks can be yours – FOR FREE – and that my friend can easily shoot up in value. Leave it be and over time your returns will easily become worth much more than the initial signup bonus.
Summary
There’s a ton of ways to make fast money, and some methods are easier and faster than others. Our best suggestions is to stay consistent and work on padding your bank account over time. But if you need fast money asap, the following apps are solid contenders you should check out:
Branded Surveys Swagbucks Survey Junkie InboxDollars Ibotta Drop DoorDash Steady Robinhood*These Offers Are For Android Only
