When you take your car for a routine check-up only to discover that it requires a new set of tires and brakes, or you need a new computer for your work because the motherboard just stopped working, it can be difficult to find the necessary funds to pay for these unexpected expenses.
With no savings or emergency funds to insulate you from these situations, any unexpected surprises can often leave you scrambling to find ways to make $50 fast.
It’s best to avoid borrowing money whenever possible and be open to trying creative ways to make money. You can help pet owners by walking their dogs, selling items you don’t need anymore, or doing freelance work for quick cash.
15 Ways To Make $50 Fast
There are plenty of approaches to making $50 quickly without getting into debt, so don’t be afraid to explore all your options. With a bit of creativity and some hard work, you can weather this financial storm and come out stronger on the other side.
If one idea doesn’t work, try the next idea. There will be at least a few opportunities on the list that can get you $50 in no time!
1. Ask for Extra Hours
People take days off to go on vacation or need time off due to illness or family emergencies, leaving gaps in their work schedules. You can talk to your manager and let them know that your schedule is flexible and that you’re available to take on additional hours if someone can’t make it to work.
Not only are you helping your coworkers by covering their shifts, but you can also pocket an extra $50 a day or more.
2. Sell Your Stuff
Your closet is full of clothes, shoes, and accessories that you haven’t worn in months or even years.
Stop giving yourself the excuse that you’ll wear those clothes someday and list them on Poshmark or Mercari.
Spend one hour going through your old clothes and decluttering your closet. Lightly worn clothing that is in good condition and designer items sell exceptionally well on these platforms.
If you have an old phone in your drawers, you can easily sell it on Facebook Marketplace or Swappa to get some cash back.
3. Do Freelance Writing
“Looking for a passionate writer” or “Hiring new writers” are common job posting titles found on freelance job sites like Upwork and Freelancer. And there’s a good reason for that.
Content creation is one of the top priorities for online businesses, and they are always looking for talented writers to help them with content writing.
There are different kinds of writing gigs you can pick up to supplement your income. For example, you can get paid to write engaging blog posts, come up with witty captions for social media content, or write detailed product descriptions.
For new writers, finding clients won’t be an issue if you charge $50 for a 1,000-word article. Once you build up your writing portfolio, you can increase your rate to $100 per article (1,000 words). As you gain more writing experience and earn the trust of your clients, making $300 a day with freelance writing is absolutely possible!
4. Become An Uber Or Lyft Driver
Okay, maybe you need a break from your workplace and want a change of scenery. Driving for Uber or Lyft puts you in the driver’s seat (no pun intended) and gives you the flexibility to work whenever you want. You can drive around the city, meet different people, and get paid for it.
The average pay for drivers is around $19 per hour, which is not bad. You can expect to earn even more with surge pricing during rush hour and holiday seasons. By choosing to drive 7-10 hours a week in your free time, making an additional $500 a month is easy.
5. Deliver Food On Your Bike
Don’t have a car? No problem! Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Uber Eats and DoorDash allow you to deliver food on your bicycle! And no, you won’t be expected to bike up Mount Everest to your delivery destination. This option is usually available in big cities where restaurants are close to the customers, making door-to-door delivery much more efficient.
Delivering food by bike might be faster than driving a car because you can avoid traffic congestion and parking headaches in busy downtown areas.
6. Get Paid to Walk Dogs
Studies show that pets can reduce stress and improve your overall mood.
Perhaps you want to walk your neighbor’s dog, or maybe there’s a pug in need of some attention. Whatever the case, you can get paid for walking dogs through Rover, a popular app that connects dog walkers with pet owners.
If you love animals, you can offer additional pet services like pet grooming, pet sitting, and more.
7. Offer Your Housecleaning Services
Unlike the castle in Beauty and the Beast, we don’t have magical servants to do all the cleaning for us. That’s where your organizational skills come in to save the day!
If you like decluttering and keeping your home nice and tidy, why not offer your housekeeping services to others that are too busy to do it themselves?
Honestly, people hate to clean, and they would gladly pay someone to do their dirty work.
Post your services on local Facebook groups or online classifieds like Craigslist, and you’ll likely get some calls soon!
8. Earn Money As A Proofreader
No matter how great a writer is, grammar and spelling mistakes are hard to escape.
Grammarly, a grammar-checking software, can catch most errors, but the devil is in the detail. Your sharp eyes and eagle-like attention to detail can spot extra spaces between words, missing commas, and repeated words from a mile away.
Whether you are proofreading eBooks, web content, or social media posts, you can make extra money as a freelance proofreader and help others improve their writing.
9. Sell Your Photography Skills
Are you taking pictures of your meals, family, your cat sleeping in funny positions, and beautiful sunsets?
These photos might not be worthy of National Geographic magazine, but they could be sold for extra cash.
Platforms like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock are popular places where you can sell your photos online to small business owners and bloggers.
Another option is to find clients who are looking for professional headshots or family portraits and offer your photography services at a reasonable price. An hour photo shoot session typically costs $200-0 so making more than $50 in a week would be feasible if you take 15-25 pictures for clients.
10. Tutor Students
Every parent wants to give their child the best education possible, but sometimes they don’t have enough time to help them with homework or study for upcoming exams.
You, on the other hand, have free time in your schedule, and you know a thing or two about the subjects they are struggling with.
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects are in high demand from parents, and your job is to help students understand difficult concepts and get higher grades.
By simply tutoring several hours a week, you’ll have enough money to pay your bills and still have spare money to enjoy life.
Tips On Making $50 Fast
It can be tempting to use your credit card or payday loans to get cash quickly, but these options have incredibly high-interest rates and can lead you down a rabbit hole of debt if you’re not careful.
You might think that you need to pick up a new skill or learn a complicated system in order to make extra money quickly, but that’s not the case. Find a side hustle that you enjoy and commit to working a few hours each week. Whether it’s walking dogs, writing articles for online bloggers, or taking photos of things you see in your daily life, you can earn extra income just by doing things that you already enjoy.