How to Make Money Quick [$$$ in One Day or Less]

We’ve all heard the expression, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

Unfortunately, it’s true.

But:

There are still ways to make money quick in one day.

You can’t go out to the money orchard and pick it off a tree like fruit, but there are ways to get your hands on a few bucks when you need it.

Obviously, some money-making schemes aren’t ideal.

For example, you could get a payday loan, which means getting a high-interest advance on your paycheck.

Or you could contact some unsavory individuals to see if there’s a way to make some cash.

We don’t recommend either.

Payday loans can send you into debt, and illegal activities are, well...illegal.

Fortunately, though, you don’t need to operate on the outskirts of the law to earn money.

Thanks to the internet and the gig economy, there are tons of legal, safe, and rewarding ways to earn extra income.

Making money has truly never been easier.

All you really need is a cell phone and some spare time to start bringing in cash.

Want to know how to make money quick?

Read this article for some ideas:

Uber Instant Pay

If you have a valid driver’s license, driving for Uber is a great way to make some extra money on the side.

All you need to do is sign up, send in some paperwork, and hit the road.

In the past, you had to wait a few days to get paid for driving.

But now, Uber Instant Pay allows you to cash out as soon as you complete a ride.

So if you’re signed up as a driver and looking for some quick cash, get out there.

Log on, do some rides, and you’ll have money in the bank by the time you get home.
Signing up for Uber Instant Pay is easy.

Just go into the app and choose Instant Pay from the menu.

Enter your debit card info you’re all set.

There are a few downsides.

For one, Uber charges $0.50 per transaction.

Keep this in mind when you’re transferring funds.

If you happen to have an Uber debit card from Go Bank, withdrawing funds to your account is completely free.

Also, you’re only allowed to make five withdrawals per day.

So if you plan to withdraw all of your daily earnings, you might want to save money in your account until the end of the day and withdraw it all at once.

Not an Uber driver yet? Check out our step-by-step guide to signing up:

Lyft Express Pay

Because Lyft is so similar to Uber, it’s not surprising that Lyft Express Pay is a lot like Uber Instant Pay.

It allows drivers to transfer money to their bank account on the same day they earn it.

And, Lyft charges $0.50 for every Express Pay transaction.

However, there are a few key differences:

First, there are no limits on the number of times you can withdraw your earnings.

But with Express Pay, you can’t withdraw more than $3,000 in a single day.

Also, to be eligible for Express Pay, you need to have earned at least $50 with Lyft.

So you’ll have to complete at least a few rides (or one long ride) before you’ll see any money.

Unfortunately, you also have to own your own vehicle to benefit from Express Pay.

If you rent a vehicle from Lyft, then you’ll have to meet your weekly or monthly ride to withdraw an Express payment.

Signing up for Express Pay is easy. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Lyft app.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Payment info.
4. Under the Express Pay header, tap Debit Card.
5. Enter your card info.
6. Tap Get Paid and get paid!

Remember:
If Lyft alone isn’t paying the bills, you can make more money by working for Uber and Lyft at the same time.

Want to start driving for Lyft? Take a look at our how-to guide:

Caviar and the Square Cash App

Caviar is a food delivery service that hires freelance drivers to deliver food.

If you have a car or bike, and a smartphone, this is an excellent side hustle.

Signing up is pretty straightforward.

It usually takes less than a day to get hired.

And thanks to the company’s partnership with Square, you can get access to your earnings right away.

To do this, you will need to download Square’s Cash App.

Then, you need to go into your Caviar profile settings and choose to receive payments through Cash App.

The app will ask you to connect the two accounts.

It’s super easy (and free) since Square owns Caviar.

As soon as you join your accounts, you’ll receive instant payments as soon as you complete a Caviar delivery.

All you have to do is transfer your money from the Caviar app to Cash App.

Then, you can transfer money from your Cash App account to your bank account.

If you don’t want to wait for the money to transfer from Cash App to your bank (which takes 1-3 business days, you can get a Square Card.

These work like debit cards and they allow you to spend the money in your account as soon as you earn it.

Can’t get more convenient than that!

DoorDash Fast Pay

DoorDash is another company offering speedy food delivery for customers and fast payments for drivers.

DoorDash Fast Pay the same way as the other instant payment services.

However, to be eligible for DoorDash Fast Pay, you need to have been on the DoorDash platform for a minimum of two weeks.

You also need to have 25 deliveries under your belt.

DoorDash charges a $1.99 fee for each Fast Pay transaction, which is kind of a bummer.

But if you need money fast, this is a small price to pay.

Here’s how to set up DoorDash Fast Pay:

1. Open the DoorDash app.
2. Tap Earnings in the Menu.
3. Tap Set Up Fast Pay.
4. Verify your direct deposit info.
5. Enter your debit card info.
6. Withdraw funds by clicking Use Fast Pay in the Earnings section.

Postmates Instant Pay

Postmates is similar to Caviar and DoorDash in that it is a delivery service.

But food isn’t the only thing they deliver.

Postmates drivers deliver everything from fast food and groceries to alcohol, office supplies, or even clothing.

Thanks to their Instant Deposit service, you can get paid for your hard work right after it’s been completed.

What’s nice about the Postmates Instant Depot program is that the fees are less than those of DoorDash.

For each transaction, you pay only $0.50.

Furthermore, there are no real requirements for signing up.

You just need to have an active account and a debit card.

You can sign up in seconds:

1. Open the Postmates Fleet app.
2. Select Banking from the menu.
3. At the bottom of the screen, you will see a choice for instant deposits. Select Add Debit Card and then enter your card info.

Once you’ve done this, you can get paid instantly.

Just tap on your picture in the app, scroll down to see your balance, and select Cash out now for $0.50.

Your money should be in your account almost instantly.

Perform Odd Jobs

All these delivery services and their instant payout options are great.

But, you need a car and a preexisting account to get paid by those companies.

Luckily, there are plenty of other ways to make money fast.

One way to do it is to take on odd jobs.

There’s always someone who needs an extra set of hands for a task.

Craigslist is always a great place to find gigs.

A person in your town probably needs someone to shovel their driveway or mow their lawn.

If so, they may have posted about it on Craigslist.

This is a good option because these jobs pay in cash, so you could have money in your pocket today.

TaskRabbit is another great place to look.

This app connects people like yourself who are looking to make some money with those who need someone to do an odd job.

People go to TaskRabbit to find dog walkers, handymen, and other people to help them with tasks they can’t do alone.

Sometimes, it’s hard to find jobs on TaskRabbit that will pay you the same day.

But it’s worth a shot, especially if you find yourself in a sticky financial spot.

Sell Your Stuff

Selling your stuff is another way to make some quick money.

We all have things hanging around the house we don’t really need anymore.

You never know when you might be able to find a buyer for something that seems like junk.

There are two primary places to sell your stuff: online and offline.

Selling Things Offline

Before the internet existed, this is how people raised money.

They cleaned out their garages and closets and held a yard sale or brought it down to the consignment shop.

It works, too.

Why do you think so many people hold garage sales?

Just by putting your stuff on a table by the street, you could rake in a good amount of cash by the end of the day.

If you’d prefer to take the consignment route, try a store like Buffalo Exchange or Plato’s Closet.

They’re both great places to sell used clothing.

Selling Things Online

Want to sell your stuff without leaving the house?

There are plenty of sites that make this possible.

LetGo is one great option.

All you need to do is upload some photos, write a description, and wait for someone to contact you.

You communicate with buyers through the app but receive payment in person.

Craigslist is also good for this.

If you own a lot of luxury clothing and accessories, you can make some good money selling them on Poshmark.

This is a social media platform where fashionistas buy, sell, and trade high-fashion items.

Do you really need all of those expensive Air Jordans or that Coach purse in your closet?

Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Etsy also allow you to sell you stuff online.

However, the problem with these sites is that you might not be able to access your funds instantly.

But, if you don’t need cash right this second, these sites provide a way to make extra cash.

Sell Your Gift Cards Online

Do you have any gift cards lingering in your wallet from past birthdays or holidays?

If so, you can trade those in for cash!

Sites like Raise, GiftCardGranny, and CardPool pay money for gift cards (even used ones).

If your card has any balance on it whatsoever, they’ll give you up to 92% of the value of the card back.

In other words, if you have a Starbucks gift card with a $19 balance, you can get more than $17 in cash back for it.

All you have to do is enter the card’s code and security number and confirm the sale.

Then, GiftCardGranny or Raise will deposit the money right in your PayPal account.

Selling your unused gift cards isn’t always fun.

But if you really need the money, it’s not the worst option.

Fill Out Online Surveys

You may not realize it, but your opinion is very important to companies.

They want to know everything about you - from the foods you enjoy to your favorite TV shows.

It helps them understand what you, the customer, are looking for.

Your opinion is so important, in fact, that companies will actually pay you to fill out surveys.

They use your answers as market research to help them develop products.

Some popular survey sites include:

• Swagbucks
• Survey Junkie
• Amazon Mechanical Turk
• InboxDollars

On sites like Swagbucks, you can earn between $2 and $50 just for participating in an online focus group.

You just fill out the questions and receive payment in return.

$50 surveys are rare to come by, so don’t expect to make much money doing this.

Plus, some of these jobs take several hours to complete, which means you might work half a day for very little.

But if you have the day off and you want to make some money in your free time, this could be a nice way to do it.

Do Some Freelance Work

The freelance economy is growing rapidly, which means there are lots of new opportunities out there.

Freelance jobs are great because they allow you to make money online and create your own schedule.

If you don’t already have an account with platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr, consider opening one today.

Typically, you can get approved within hours of applying.

On Upwork and Fiverr, you’ll find a range of freelance creative and administrative gigs in fields like:

• Data entry
• Virtual assistant
• Web development
• Graphic design
• Writing/blogging
• Editing
• ... and more

To get high-paying gigs, you’ll need a resume and portfolio, which takes time to get together.

However, there are a good amount of entry-level jobs out there that don’t require any experience.

You can earn a few bucks per hour working as a remote transcriptionist, for example.

Freelancing isn’t the best way to make money fast.

But if you start working now, you can turn this into a part-time job or even a full-time gig.

You could even turn side gig into a small business eventually.

Babysitting (and Pet Sitting)

Don’t forget:

There’s always babysitting.

No matter where in the world you live, there’s someone nearby looking for a person to watch their kids.

Babysitters are usually paid pretty well, especially if the parents are desperate for a night out.

If you don’t know any local parents, check out Care.com.

This is a platform where parents go to find people to watch their kids.

The great thing about Care.com is that most customers pay in cash.

Some use a credit card, which means you’d have to wait for a bank transfer to get paid.

But if you look for people who’ll pay you the night you work, you can get money in your pocket right away.

Also, there are a lot of people looking for pet sitters and dog walkers.

On a website like Rover, you can get paid to watch people’s pets.

If you love to walk dogs (who doesn’t), this job is basically a way to get free money.

Oftentimes, you’ll find that customers are looking for a reliable person who can babysit or pet sit every time they need help.

If you do a good job, you could turn this short-term gig into a long-term business.

Conclusion

Let’s be clear:

None of the ideas outlined in this article are going to help you get rich quick.

We don't want to fool you into thinking that it’s easy to make a lot of money in one day.

But, it’s entirely possible to make a few extra bucks when you’re short on change.

It’s very simple if you already drive for Uber, Lyft, or another rideshare service.

Their instant payment programs allow drivers to earn cash on the spot.

And food delivery drivers have access to cash almost any time, too.

So, if you aren’t in a pinch right now but you’re worried about the future, consider getting a job as a rideshare driver today.

That way, you’ll be prepared for what might come.

And if driving isn’t your thing, you might want to start freelancing.

Take your skills, put them to work, and you can start stashing money away for the future.