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There are times in life that you may find yourself strapped for cash. In those instances, you might need to know how to make $300 fast.
The money could be used to buy groceries, pay your rent or mortgage, or help pay for medical bills. Maybe it’s an unexpected car repair. Or your water heater went out…life is full of surprises, so knowing how to make quick cash can be vital.
Below is a list of great options for when you need money quickly.
Many of the choices can make you money in as little as a few days. Some require more time. But, my suggestion is to read through them all because combining several may be your best option.
What I won’t throw out there are options that take more than 90 days. Plenty of sites list starting a blog…that’s ridiculous and will not make you money quickly. Also, you’re looking for quick cash, so sites that save you 1% on your spending (Rakuten for example) are excluded.
Table of Contents
1. Sell Stuff
Probably the quickest option on the list where you could make $300 as soon as today. If you have items that you no longer need, you can try selling to interested buyers.
Facebook marketplace is a great place to list your used items. Craigslist and OfferUp (previously LetGo) are also viable options.
2. Sell Your Gift Cards
Currently, I have around 20 unused gift cards sitting in my drawer. I am the worst at remembering to use them…thankfully there are now sites that let you sell them for cash.
Try using Card Cash or Raise Marketplace to sell your gift cards collecting dust. There are even ways to convert Visa gift cards to cash.
3. Drive for Door Dash
Another great option to make 300 dollars fast is by delivering food with DoorDash. The requirements are basic and you can be approved and work on the same day!
After checking in with drivers, the range most make is $10-$25 per hour. That means you can make $300 in as quickly as 12 hours. The longer-range would be around 30 hours. It really depends on the deliveries you’re assigned.
4. Shop for Groceries With Instacart
Instacart offers two types of jobs: be a personal grocery shopper and deliver those items, or just shop for the groceries without delivering them.
The average pay per order ranges from $5-$10, the higher end for full-service shoppers who also deliver the items.
Your best chance for decent wages comes from tips, so providing great customer service is important. According to Indeed, average hourly wages range from $11-$15 per hour (that includes tip).
How fast can you make $300 at that rate? It will most likely take you 3 days of work. Payouts can be instant, with a possible 24-hour delay for tips (customers have 24 hours to adjust their tip).
5. Drive for Uber/Lyft
Uber and Lyft are great options if you’re looking for a quick way to make money. If you pass their criteria, you could be driving within a week.
The average hourly rate drivers earn is around $15-$20. At that rate, working 8 hours a day, you could earn $300 in 3 days!
6. Deliver Food for Postmates
Live in a busy city and want to deliver more than just food? Give Postmates a try! You can be up and running quickly, earning anywhere from $10-$20 per hour.
It does look like you’ll want and need to live near or in a decent-sized city for this to make sense. Most couriers can walk or ride a bike to their deliveries. Using a car may be more of a hassle, it seems.
They typically pay once a week, but you can opt for an instant deposit to get your money fast, usually within hours.
7. Lawn Care
I like to mow my own lawn, but there have been times where I just don’t have time. In those cases, I’ve used my neighbor’s landscaper and even found people through the NextDoor app.
The cost has been around $40 for just short of a quarter of an acre. There are plenty of people looking for help, so use sites and apps to get the word out. If you can get 8 lawns lined up in a weekend, there’s your quick $300!
8. Dog Walker/Sitter
Love dogs and/or cats? Why not get paid to play with these furry friends.
Sites like Rover let you market yourself as a local dog walker and even as a dog sitter. According to their website, you can make $1,000 per month.
At that rate, you can earn $300 in extra money in just over a week!
9. Garage Sale
Is your house cluttered with a bunch of junk you don’t need anymore? A garage sale might be a great way to make $300+ in a weekend.
You might even have luck asking neighbors for any unwanted items that you can sell. They may just give them up for free, or maybe you negotiate to split the sale.
Investing in signs to place near busy streets is a smart way to drive more traffic to your sale.
10. Rent a Room
If you have a spare room and are open to strangers sleeping closeby…why not rent it out! Sites like Airbnb make listing your room or home simple.
According to their site, I could make roughly $600 a month by renting out an extra room.
11. Rent Your Car
Share your car and earn an average of $30-50 a day. Turo is a site that offers an online marketplace where you can list your car for hourly/daily rentals and get paid.
You make the rules (most at least), Turo provides insurance, and of course, takes a cut. According to their website, the average monthly earning is $706.
12. Ask for Overtime
I’m adding to the list because it’s a possible option to make extra money quickly. If you’re a salaried employee who’s non-exempt, you can still earn overtime pay. If you’re hourly, it’s certainly an option.
It never hurts to ask your employer if it’s an option. If you make the minimum wage and get paid time an a half for overtime, you’ll earn $300 within about 14 hours.
13. Get Paid for Doing Chores With TaskRabbit
Willing to help someone move? How about washing their car? Run some errands? TaskRabbit is a local marketplace set up for people to find help with chores and other needs.
Set up is simple, but do spend some time creating a good profile. Also, try and find a good photo…I’d bet that many jobs are lost to a creepy mugshot.
You’ll be at the mercy of how needy your neighbors are, how many ‘tasks’ you’ve signed up for, and how marketable (aka trustworthy) you look. Some may make 300 fast…for others it might take a while.
14. Sell Plasma
If you’re ok with blood and needles, donating plasma can help others and make you some money.
How much? $20-$50 per donation. You can donate a couple of times a week, so $300 in a month is possible. But, expect to spend 1-2 hours each visit with a chance you won’t pass the requirements on any given day.
15. Refer a Friend to Get a Credit Card
If you have a credit card, see if they have a referral program. Most give $100 per referral and cap it at $500 per year. The link above gets you $750 in travel rewards if you apply and are approved (you’ll also have a minimum spend requirement).
It’s worth reaching out to family and friends to see if anyone is in the market for a new credit card. Be prepared to ‘promote’ the benefits and if it’s a rewards card, try and help them understand what their spending could equate to in rewards.
I earn roughly $700 a year in rewards with the Chase Sapphire card.
16. Online Giveaways
Every day, thousands of sites give away free money. Why would they do that? Because they want readers. They want subscribers to their email newsletter. They want people to follow them on social media.
Getting traffic to their website is how they make money. So, giveaways are a great way to get quick results. I had a giveaway when I first started and plan to have more in the future.
Sites like Contest Girl compile these sweepstakes into one convenient place. Try Googling “online sweepstakes” and you’ll find loads of these types of sites (also try Redditt, Facebook groups). The link above will direct you to blog specific giveaways. I feel they have the best odds of winning because there probably aren’t near as many participants, at least when compared to well-known sites.
There’s nothing like winning free money online!
17. Get Paid to Advertise on Your Car
If you drive a lot, have a good driving record, and aren’t opposed to adding decals all over your car, you could earn money for those miles driven.
There are several legitimate companies who will pay you to throw advertisements on your car. Be wary of who you work with and research them before committing. There’s a lot of fraudulent cases of companies sending money, then asking for funds back (big no-no).
Take a look at Dollar Sprout’s review of some of your options here. The top two options, StickerRide and Wrapify are viable options but have abysmal BBB ratings.
The average pay is around $200-$400 per month.
18. Donate Sperm
If you don’t mind countless offspring floating around the earth, why not consider donating sperm!?
There are requirements you have to meet, but if all checks out you could be looking at $50-$70 per donation. If you have great swimmers, you’ll be encouraged to donate 6-10 times per month.
Who knew making a relatively quick $300 could feel so good!
19. Clean Homes/Cars
You’re going to have a lot of competition with this option, but it’s still possible. The issue here is there are thousands of businesses offering this service.
Most consumers are going to hire based on reviews. If you’re just doing this to make quick cash, it’s not worth your time to set up a site or actual business.
But, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a shot. I see plenty of neighbors offering their cleaning services through the NextDoor app.
20. Open a Checking Account
Banks are always licking at the chops for new customers. A new customer who opens a checking account, maintains decent balances, and uses their debit card for daily transactions can make the bank roughly $1,650 per year.
It’s then worth it for a bank to pay a bonus to clients who open a new checking account. Generally, they will have certain requirements like setting up a direct deposit and using your debit card 5 times. Those are, of course, the ways that banks make money on deposit accounts.
A simple Google search of “new checking offer” will uncover all the banks offering you money to open a new checking account.
As of today, these are a few of the bonus offers I found.
- Chase – $200-$2000 bonus offer ($2,000 if you qualify for their Private Client Checking)
- HSBC – $200-$450 bonus offer
- Citi – $200-$700
Typically, bonus offers will be paid out within 60 days of opening the account or completing their requirements.
21. Focus Groups/Surveys
If you have extra time and are open to sharing your opinions and views, or even watching videos, then taking part in focus groups and surveys can make you some quick cash.
Survey sites like Focus Group, User Interviews, and Survey Junkie have thousands of companies looking to pick your brain to enhance their consumer knowledge.
Often, these sites will pay you in gift cards versus cash, so do some research based on your needs.
Need cash from your Visa Gift Card? How to Get Cash From a Visa Gift Card: 10 Tested Options
22. Upwork/Fiverr
Are you a good writer? Do you like to read? Or maybe you enjoy creating beautiful infographics?
Upwork and Fiverr are basically a marketplace for people looking to hire freelance writers, proofreaders, and creative individuals. There are many more options beyond these, so it’s worth taking a look.
It’ll most likely take you a little while to start earning decent money. Most people want to see a proven track record before hiring. That’s accomplished by gaining good reviews for the jobs you perform.
23. Get a Credit Card
If you have good credit, you can consider applying for a new credit card. There are always cards offering some sort of bonus offer, so do some research to find one that fits your needs.
Type “credit card bonus offers” into Google and plenty of options will show up. Most will require that you not only get approved but spend a certain amount of money within the first few months.
Here are some great options to choose from.
- American Express Blue Cash Preferred & Blue Cash Everyday – $300 bonus offer (spend $3,000 within 6 months)
- Chase Freedom – $200 bonus offer (spend $500 in 3 months)
- Chase Sapphire – $600 bonus offer (spend $4,000 in 3 months)
Now You Know How to Make $300 Fast
All of the above are options that work to make you some quick money. Many can add cash to your pocket in days, some will take longer.
My suggestion is to try out several at a time. That way you can expedite your goal of making $300 and it gives you a chance to see what works best for you.
You may even find a few options that you enjoy and can be your new side hustle. Your newly found income can then help you save money and reduce debt.
Best of luck!
