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 you rent or mortgage payment.

When you find yourself without enough or any (let’s be honest that happens, too) of the rent money you need to pay your landlord, you begin running scenarios in your head.  Some of those scenarios be “How can I legally make enough money to pay the ent?”, “Can I borrow it 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 don’t need to pawn your most prized possession or sell the items that you are still using. You don’t need to give up something you really need in your life to get the money..

Check out these creative, easy ways to earn your rent money.

Sell Your Unused Gift Cards

Did you know that you can convert your unused gift cards into cash?  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.

You can sell any unused gift cards online and get paid good money through PayPal, Direct Deposit, or check.  Don’t need that Starbucks gift card?  Use it to earn some cash by selling it at Raise or CardPool.

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.

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Find Free Money From Your Budget

Managing your money can be complicated. There is always something that drains your cash and you might not even realize what that is.

The app EveryDollar is one of the best apps for saving money. 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 and also has a cool feature to find free cash.

Once you link your bank account to the app, it will help you in setting up a monthly budget. This app will help you save a lot of money.  The best part it handles all the hard work. 

EveryDollar monitors your account to see if you are paying too much for your bills and where there may be opportunities for you to save some extra cash.

Share Your Opinions

Online survey sites is 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.

While making extra money,  instead of just lounging around or watching funny TikTok or YouTube videos, why don’t you start clicking a couple of buttons and earn a few bucks?

Many paid survey websites such as MyPoints, Survey Junkie, and PointClub, which are run by legitimate companies. You can get free gift cards by taking polls and taking online surveys.

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 which allows you to take photos of your items and sell it to people locally or or not.

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 don’t you use this to your advantage and earn a few dollars on the side?

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 so.

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 by listing it on Airbnb.

If you have a good location and a desirable space, this is a good idea for you. You can get hundreds to thousands of dollars 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 you may need your helping hand.  There might be an elderly couple who needs help in settling in their new home or there might be working parents who are looking for a night out and need a babysitter. You could even do this full time and set your own schedule.

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.

Do you have other ideas for making some extra side cash in a hurry?  Share them in the comments below!