Not everything in life goes according to plan. An economic crisis may make your once stable job unstable at any moment. A natural disaster might destroy your home and belongings. The people you rely on now might not be around when you need them the most.
When you encounter an emergency situation, where and how will you get money to get by? Here are some suggestions:
Take Out a Loan
Perhaps, the most obvious and common solution to financial distress is taking out a loan. When you have an immediate need for something but cannot pay for it out of pocket, you go to a lender and borrow a certain amount with the promise to pay it back bit by bit after a certain amount of time. In exchange, you have to surrender an asset as collateral.
There are different types of loans. There are loans you can get so you can buy a house or a car, open a business, or go to school.
People who need cash fast typically go to title loan places where they can borrow a certain amount immediately. The process is quicker than other types of loans because the lender might not take the applicant’s credit history into consideration. In exchange, the lender will take an asset as collateral. If you cannot pay for the loan after the established period of time, the lender will seize ownership of the asset.
Sell Old Electronics
You do not use your old iPhones and iPads anymore. Why not try to sell it and make some money?
There are a number of platforms and services that you can use to find a buyer for your used devices whether they are still working or not. ItsWorthMore and BuyBackWorld, for example, will take your smartphones, tablets, cameras, video game consoles, personal computers, drones, etc. They will offer you a certain price and then send your electronics to their headquarters. They pay through PayPal. Apple and Amazon will also accept your old electronics, but they will only pay you with store credits. If you want to sell directly to an individual, you can always go to eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace.
Sell a Service
The app economy is on the rise. More people are using the apps on their smartphones to provide services and earn a bit of money. These people drive strangers to their chosen destination (Uber or Lyft), let tourists stay in their spare rooms (Airbnb), or even teach a skill over the internet (Skillshare). It will take some time, but you can earn a lot of money from taking gigs on top of your regular job as long as you work hard.
Be a Sitter
When you were a teenager, you got money by taking care of neighborhood kids while their parents were out. You can still do that now.
If you are not fond of kids, you can offer your services to dog owners in your neighborhood. You can also offer to care for pets while their owners are away to work or vacation. It is a fairly easy job if you like pets.
Before you get into a situation where you badly need money ASAP, strive to set aside a bit of cash from your monthly income. This will be your rainy day fund and will only be used during an emergency.
