How To Pay Rent When You Can’t
If you’re here reading this post – please know that we’ve all been there. It’s a scary place to be when you realize you can’t make your future rent or mortgage payments. And when you try to be a good tenant.
When you find yourself without enough or any (let’s be honest, that happens, too) of the portion of the rent money you need to pay your landlord or property owner for your rental property, you begin running scenarios in your head.
Some of those scenarios are “How can I legally make enough money to pay the rental costs and housing costs?”, “Can I borrow it from or a portion of rent from a friend, family member, or ask for an advance at work?”, “Can I take out a loan? Or a Payday Loan (NEVER take that route – it’s like doing business with a loan shark, and sometimes it never ends.).
You might also start to think about what happens if there is a nonpayment of rent. What will happen? Will the property manager understand? Will I get an eviction notice for back rent?
You don’t need to pawn your most prized possession or sell the items you are still using. You don’t need to give up something you really need in your life to get the money and to not have past due rent or overdue rent.
Check out these creative, easy ways to earn however much rent money you need.
Sell Your Unused Gift Cards
Did you know that you can convert your unused gift cards into cash payments and personal checks? Gift Card Granny is a gift card website that provides gift card sellers and buyers with the best deals.
A great way to make free money is to sell all those free gift cards you get for your birthday and Christmas. Amazon gift cards are a great option since they’re always in high demand.
This is a great way to to take care of your past-due rent, past-due utility bills, and eligible expenses. At the same time, you are avoiding an eviction case from property management companies on your rental property.
You can sell any unused gift cards online and get paid good money with plenty of payment options to choose from like PayPal, Direct Deposit to your debit card or credit card, or check. Don’t need that Starbucks gift card? Use it to earn some cash by selling it at Raise or Gift deals
Some local pawn shops can also buy your gift cards but they don’t give the same rates such as online vendors. At most, some local pawn shops could buy your cards for 50% of it’s value.
Get Refunds From Your Online Purchases
Getting refunds from the money you already spent at an online store is one of the easiest ways to stretch your budget. Paribus is an easy and effortless way to get money back for your online purchases from any online business you shop.
This is a great way for you and your household members to make money for housing-related expenses such as past due utility bills and your rental unit.
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Find Free Money From Your Budget
Managing your money can be complicated. There is always something that drains your cash or median income and you might not even realize what that is.
The app EveryDollar is one of the best apps for saving money, giving financial assistance advice, as well rental help that keeps you on track in paying each month. It’s like having a financial virtual assistant on your mobile device to watch over your money 24/7.
It helps you make smart financial decisions, gives you financial help with being able to pay your future rent payments, and has a cool feature to find free cash. It does this by keeping track of your household income and the amount of money you spend on your utility bills like heating costs, home energy costs, trash removal, and rent payments.
This new program is also a good option to keep track of your emergency funds, which is great if you are in financial hardship or low-income households. The only personal information you need is your email address and bank info to sign up.
Once you link your bank account to the app, it will help you set up a monthly budget for your housing needs and utility payments. This app will help you save a lot of money by helping with your significant costs. The best part it handles all the hard work.
EveryDollar monitors your account to see if you are paying too much for your bills or utility provider and where there may be opportunities for you to save some extra cash.
Share Your Opinions
Online survey sites are a good use of your spare time, and they’re a good place and a great idea to make your free time on the couch more productive. All you need is a cell phone. Just open up your free account.
All you have to do is fill out the additional information to see if you meet the eligibility criteria for each survey.
While making extra money, instead of just lounging around or watching funny TikTok or YouTube videos, why not start clicking a couple of buttons and earn a few bucks? This can help avoid an eviction notice for any renter households.
Many paid survey websites such as MyPoints, Survey Junkie, and PointClub, are run by legitimate companies. You can get free gift cards by taking polls and taking online surveys.
All you have to do is fill out and then by following criteria and eligibility requirements to see what surveys you qualify for.
Drink For Free
Did you know that you can drink to your heart’s content for free and get paid real money in return?
You can get paid to mystery shop and drink at breweries. Secret Hopper is looking for detail-oriented beer lovers to visit different breweries and share their experiences. **Side Note: NEVER EVER pay a company to secret shop or to be a mystery shopper – companies that charge ARE NOT legit**
Although the pay is not huge, you get free beer instead of paying for it, that’s a win! lol
Declutter Your Wardrobe
Odds are, you have some clothes that you don’t wear often or clothes that you want to part with.
Selling your unused and unwanted clothes to second-hand stores is a quick way to earn easy money. There are also apps like 5Miles that allow you to take photos of your items and sell them to people locally or not. This is great, especially for people who have low income due to a loss of wages.
Earn Extra Cash By Opening A Credit Card
Taking free money when you can get it goes a long way. Once you sign-up with a Chase Freedom Unlimited Card, you earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back with all your purchases.
Not only that, if you spend at least $500 in your first three months after you open your account, you’ll get a $150 bonus. There is no annual fee and the cash-back rewards don’t expire.
Sell Your Old Items
Living a minimalist lifestyle is in, why not use this to your advantage and earn a few dollars on the side for your monthly leases or late fees?
A popular way to make money online is to sell products. Not only is this a great form of remote work, you don’t need any special skill set to do it, which is great if you need money for utility assistance or your security deposits.
Look around — what do you see that you no longer use?
If you have unused DVDs, CDs, and electronics lying around, you can turn them to cash. Maybe it’s time to part ways with your old DVD collection and let someone else enjoy it.
Snap some photos of your unused items and sell it through places such as Decluttr and Craigslist.
List Your Extra Room on Airbnb
Do you have a spare room in your house? You can earn some extra cash and an annual income by listing it on Airbnb.
This is a good idea if you have a good location such as in an urban development and a desirable space. You can get hundreds to thousands of dollars from accepting applications from Airbnb.
Sell Your Old Books
Suppose you have a pile of books lying around or know college students that no longer need their books. It’s time to collect them and head down to your local used book store to exchange them for a few bucks. It might just add to the clutter in your home.
If you don’t want to leave home, you can sell your textbooks for the best prices at BookScouter.
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Start a Side Gig
Think of all the people in your community that may need your helping hand. There might be an elderly couple who needs help settling in their new home or apartment buildings, and there might be working parents looking for a night out and needing a babysitter.
You could even do this full time and set your own schedule. All you have to do is fill out an online application and make sure to sign up for email updates.
You may find different opportunities for a side gig via Care or Craigslist.
If you don’t like venturing into the real world and have skills when it comes to graphic design, writing or voice over, you can check out Fiverr and do online tasks for people.
Non-Profit Organizations
If you live in New York you can apply for erap assistance:
Federal funding provided to New York State for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program is almost fully committed to eligible New Yorkers who applied. While applications are still being accepted by OTDA, funding is not likely to be available except in the categories below:
- Dutchess County
- Erie County
- Nassau County (not including the towns of Hempstead or Oyster Bay)
- Niagara County
- Oneida County
- Saratoga County
- Suffolk County (not including the towns of Brookhaven or Islip)
- Westchester County (not including the city of Yonkers)
If you live in Texas you maybe be one of the eligible households to qualify for The Texas Rent Relief Program:
Providing rental and utility assistance to qualifying applicants to prevent housing instability, potential eviction, utility disconnections, and financial hardships for tenants and landlords.
Catholic Charities and the Salvation army also provide local assistance and help with temporary rental assistance there are also rental assistance programs like The United Way, you can go find out if your a eligible applicant today.
Do you have other ideas for making some extra side cash in a hurry? Share them in the comments below!
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