How to Make $1000 Fast – 21 Ways to Make Money Fast

Need to learn how to make $1,000 fast? I’m guessing you just had a major “Oh, crap!” moment.

Maybe your car’s transmission just went out and you also have to make rent. Or you suddenly need to replace your laptop but know that extra expense means it will be hard to cover the rest of this month’s bills.

Things like this come up for everyone. But before the panic sets in, realize that you have a lot of options for making money fast.

How to Make $1000 Fast - 21 Ways to Make Money Fast

1. Deliver food

On-demand food delivery services are one of the best ways to make money fast right now. There’s an increased demand on the customer side, and you can make $15-$20/hour delivering food in your free time. There are services that specialize in grocery store delivery, like Instacart and Shipt, or you can work for one that delivers for restaurants, pharmacies, and convenience stores, like DoorDash does.

Most food delivery companies pay their drivers weekly, but they also offer instant cash-out options so money hits your bank account the day you earn it.

The requirements for food delivery drivers are nearly identical, which means if you qualify to drive for one service, you will be eligible to drive for multiple services. That’s actually what many drivers do because it gives you more opportunities to make $1,000 fast.

Driver requirements include:

• Meet the legal age to drive in your state
• Valid driver’s license and insurance
• Reliable vehicle
• Clean driving record
• Pass a criminal background check

If you’re interested in becoming a food delivery driver, here are my recommendations:

DoorDash

DoorDash serves over 4,000 cities, and it makes up over 50% of the meal delivery market share. Dasher (what you’re called as a DoorDash driver) can schedule their hours in advance, but there are also opportunities to “Dash Now” when the app is busy. This allows you to open the app and drive whenever you have extra time and want to make some fast cash.

Instacart

You can drive for Instacart in over 5,500 cities in the U.S. and Canada. This service specializes in grocery store delivery, so you’ll be shopping for groceries and delivering them to your customers. Drivers schedule their hours in the app, and the busiest hours for drivers (when you’ll make the most money) are 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Shipt

Shipt started as a membership-based grocery delivery service, but they’ve since opened their service to all. This app is available in over 5,000 cities nationwide, and drivers shop for groceries and deliver them. 

2. Sell your stuff

If you really want to learn how to make $1,000 fast, like in a week or less, selling your stuff can put that cash in your pocket.

You know you have stuff sitting around your house that you’re not using, so now is the time to go through your closets, garage, attic, basement, etc. and find things to sell. Maybe there’s a sander you bought for a home renovation project you’re done with. Are you holding onto a couple of old cell phones? What about clothes or shoes? Instruments? Books? 

Even if you don’t think there’s anything to sell, I’m willing to bet you $5 that if you start looking, you’ll find something. Please don’t hold me to that $5 thing.

Some of the more traditional ways to sell stuff, like having a yard sale, still apply today. It can take a little more time to organize everything and let people know about your sale, but it’s possible to make several hundred dollars in a single day.

Facebook Marketplace has become a really popular option, and the same goes for local buy/sell/swap groups. You can list practically anything that doesn’t violate Facebook’s Terms of Use (illegal drugs, weapons, animals, medicine, etc.). 

Here are a few item-specific places to sell your stuff for cash:

• You can use Poshmark and ThredUp for clothes, shoes, and accessories. There are also consignment stores, like Plato’s Closet, that buy gently used, on-trend clothing.
• Play It Again Sports buys used sporting equipment and workout gear, including soccer cleats, treadmills, tennis rackets, basketballs, hockey sticks, weights, and much more.
• Decluttr is specifically for used electronics -- phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, video games, video game consoles, and more. Decluttr even buys used LEGO sets.
• You can sell furniture and home decor items on the Chairish app.

Don’t forget about places like Craigslist and eBay. Also, when you’re looking for places to sell your stuff, make sure you check out the fees associated with each platform and how quickly they pay out because that can make all the difference when you need to make $1,000 now.

Also, make sure you give an honest description of everything you’re selling. If there are dents, rips, or discoloration, make sure the buyer is aware of that beforehand. Those things aren’t a dealbreaker for every buyer, but you’ll need to be honest and price accordingly.

3. Try flea market flipping

Flea market flipping is buying things you find for cheap at a flea market, garage sale, thrift store, etc., and then turning around and selling them for a profit.

You’ll need a good eye for spotting profitable flips, but there’s potential in all kinds of things. To give you an idea of what you can flip, here’s what Melissa and Rob of Flea Market Flipper recently sold:

• A hiking backpack purchased for $10 and sold for $135
• Collectible ornaments purchased for $8 and flipped for $127
• Frigidaire stove they picked up on OfferUp for $200 and then sold for $2,800 (!!!)
• Cement grinder bought for $200 and flipped for $1,700

4. Trim your bills

If you want to learn how to make money fast, don’t forget that finding ways to save money means you have more cash in the bank. It’s just that simple. 

One of the fastest options is canceling some of your subscription services. Do you really need Netflix, Hulu, ESPN+, and HBO Max all at the same time? Are there apps you’ve subscribed to but have forgotten about? Meal kits? Beauty boxes? Wine-of-the-month club?

You can find a less expensive cell phone carrier like Mint, Ting, or Republic Wireless and lower your cell bill to $40/month or less.

Call your car insurance company and see if there are new programs or discounts you qualify for. The last time I did this I was able to lower my bill by $40/month.

It can be a hassle to find and cancel all of your subscriptions, but the Trim app can make it easier for you. After connecting your accounts to Trim, they go through and find recurring subscriptions and ask if you’d like their app to cancel them for free. Trim also has a bill negotiation service to help lower your cable, internet, and cell phone bills.

5. Take online surveys

Okay, you’re not going to quickly make $1,000 from online surveys alone, but it adds up when you combine it with other ideas on this list. I like recommending online surveys because they are soooo easy and open to practically anyone.

The first survey I recommend is Survey Junkie, and they pay an average of $1-$5 per survey. Surveys average 5 to 30 minutes, and you can take surveys from your phone or laptop.

Because you won’t be matched with every survey on their site -- surveys are looking for market data from people who meet specific demographic requirements -- I recommend signing for multiple survey sites. You’ll qualify for more surveys, and that’s more money in your pocket. 

Here are several other legitimate survey sites I recommend:

• MyPoints
• InboxDollars
• Swagbucks
• Branded Surveys
• Pinecone Research
• Opinion Outpost

6. Find a part-time job

Now that there are so many good-paying and flexible side hustles, part-time jobs don’t get mentioned nearly as much as they used to. But the reality is that finding a part-time job is still a really good way to make extra money.

One of my readers recently shared in that he took a job delivering pizzas part-time. It wasn’t his dream job, but it was helping him make extra money fast, especially because he got to bring cash tips home each night.

7. Negotiate for a raise

Asking for a raise can be a terrifying thing for a lot of people. What if my boss says no? That means very few people ever take the chance and ask for a raise.

According to a Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, 37% of men and 36% of women have asked for a raise. Men received the raise they asked for 82% of the time, while women got their raise 74% of the time.

Wage gap aside, that’s telling. You probably have a better chance at that raise than you might expect. In addition to this being a great way to make $1,000 fast, getting a raise is a long-term boost in your finances. It’s extra money you’ll have every month to pay off debt, save for retirement, put towards an awesome vacation, and so on.

Here are some tips to help you negotiate a raise and get it:

• Do your research. Find out what others in your field are earning to get a sense of what’s a realistic ask.
• Find the right time. Make sure your company is doing well financially, where’s your current standing with them, have you recently received a raise, etc. Some of the best times to ask for a raise are after you’ve completed a big project, a few months before an annual review, or after new responsibility has been added to your plate.
• Practice your pitch. Write down what you’re asking for and why you deserve it, then practice saying it out loud before you go to your boss.

The worst thing that can happen is that your boss says “no.” That doesn’t mean you’re fired. Take that as an opportunity to look at your job performance or even start job hunting elsewhere.

8. Pet sitting

Pet sitters can earn anywhere from $35-$70 per night depending on where you live, and dog walkers can make $15-$25 per walk.

I could see this being a really fun way to make money fast… if you like pets, which is a must.

My wife and I found our pet sitter through Rover – it’s free to sign up, you set your rates, and list what kind of services you’re willing to offer. We use the same person every time we go out of town because they were so great with our weird dog, Strider.

Besides listing your services on Rover, you can put the word out to family and friends and ask them to share your contact info. Nextdoor is a good way to advertise your pet sitting services to people in your neighborhood. 

9. Rent out your car

Instead of letting your car sit in the driveway all day, why not make some extra cash from it? You can list your car on HyreCar, a peer-to-peer rental marketplace, and make around $35/day. I can see this being a good option if you’re working from home these days and not using your car as much or if you want to offset your car payment.

HyreCar is specifically for renting your car to rideshare and food delivery drivers, and they offer up to $1,000,000 in coverage if something happens.

What’s sweet about renting out your car is that it’s fairly passive. So, while your car is being rented, you could also focus on selling things to make money or pet sitting, for example.

10. Start freelancing

Think for a second about the kinds of skills and services you have to offer. Most of us have something… Are you a skilled writer? An incredibly creative graphic designer? Do you have bookkeeping experience? What about a background in administrative assistance?

Those are just a few of the many, many skills you can leverage to start freelancing. Freelancing has become a fast-growing industry with more and more big companies hiring freelancers, and small business owners have been using freelancers for years because it’s more cost-effective for them than hiring a full-time employee. 

Pay for freelancers varies by skill and services, but it’s safe to say that you can quickly start making $1,000+ per month.

Upwork is an online freelancing marketplace where you can create a profile, list your services and prices, and connect with potential clients. You can also create a website and share it within your network-- this route may take more time, but it’s something you can do while listing on Upwork.

Below is more about different freelance career paths if you’re interested in learning more:

• Writer: Freelance writers may work for bloggers, magazines, news sites, write web copy, ghostwrite, and more. The course Write Your Way to $1K can help you get started.
• Graphic design: If you’re artistic and good with a computer, graphic design is a growing field. You can design flyers, logos, invitations, posters, web graphics, Etsy printables, and much more.
• Virtual assistant: These freelancers are responsible for a lot of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into running a business. You need to be highly organized and an excellent communicator if you want to become a virtual assistant.
• Bookkeeper: It’s similar to accounting but doesn’t require a degree. Bookkeepers help manage payroll, handle invoicing, and generally track a business’s finances. 
• Web developer: This is a high-income career field that doesn’t require a college degree, and many web developers these days get their start in months-long boot camps.
• Proofreading: Proofreaders get paid to correct grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Learn how to get started in the Proofread Anywhere Course.

11. Find odd jobs

Whenever we (me and others in the personal finance blogosphere) talk about learning how to make $1,000 fast or just making extra money in general, doing small one-off jobs or gigs is something that gets overlooked. It’s not a long-term solution, but you can make money fast doing small, side jobs.

For example, go on Craigslist to the “Gigs” section. My local Craigslist has listings for unloading a truck for $50, installing drywall for $20/hour, someone who wants drone footage taken, and more.

TaskRabbit is another place to find small jobs. You can make money helping people assemble IKEA furniture, installing a wall-mounted TV, running errands, etc.

Ideally, you could line up several of these gigs and spend the weekend working through a couple of them. That would be a few hundred dollars in your pocket in just a few days.

12. Start tutoring

When I was looking at my local Craigslist, I saw a couple of postings for people who were looking for online foreign language tutors – one for German and the other for Russian.

This got me thinking about other kinds of tutoring gigs available. ACT and SAT prep tutors can make $45-$100/hour. Offering subject-specific tutoring (math, chemistry, foreign languages, etc.) can pay $30-$60/hour.

You might be able to find tutoring jobs on Craigslist, but if you want to make money fast, I recommend signing up for Wyzant and creating a listing.

Wyzant is an online tutoring platform – it’s free to sign up – and it’s well-known in the tutoring world. When I was a high band director, several of my band kids had Wyzant tutors.

13. Rent out unused space

Do you have a nearly empty garage? Is there space in your basement or attic? Neighbor is a platform where you can list your empty space and rent it out to people in your community. It’s an alternative to traditional storage spaces.

It’s also kind of like Airbnb, except you don’t have to share your space with actual people, just their stuff.

You can even rent your driveway on Neighbor to someone who needs to park their car, boat, or RV. The going rate for rental space depends on where you’re located, but you do get to set your rates. For example, renting part of your attic might go for $20/month or your driveway for $100/month.

You’d still have a ways to go if you want to learn how to make $1,000 fast, but remember you can combine multiple ideas to get to $1,000 even quicker.

14. Earn cash back when you shop

Ibotta is an app that gives you cash back for shopping like you normally do. It’s not a ton of money, but you can add it to your running total until you hit $1,000.

The most common cash back option on Ibotta is earning a percentage back on your total purchase, and Ibotta has partnered with 300+ major nationwide retailers, like Target, Home Depot, REI, Domino’s Pizza, Glossier, Gamestop, and many more. You earn cash back when you visit and shop at one of its partners' websites through the Ibotta app. Or, you can shop in-store and upload your receipt.

15. Sell things on eBay

I have a reader who made nearly $85,000 in one year from selling things on eBay. Sure, it took them some time to build their business, but I mentioned selling on eBay because anyone can start selling on eBay. It’s especially profitable if you sell in one of the top-selling categories, including:

• Car parts and accessories
• Cameras
• Antiques and vintage finds
• Collectible or rare books, comics, and magazines
• Sporting goods and workout equipment

If you have this kind of stuff sitting at home or can find it for cheap at thrift stores or garage sales, this is one of the best ways to make $1,000 fast. However, pay attention to shipping costs (many sellers recommend building it into your listing prices) so you can keep more cash in your pocket.

16. Open a new checking or savings account

This is one many people don’t think of, but banks regularly run promotions to attract new customers. And you can easily make $100-$500 fast by opening a new checking account.

Offers constantly change — and they do expire — but here are some offers I found when writing this article:

• Chase Bank offers a $225 sign-on bonus for new customers who set up a Chase Total checking account. You are required to set up direct deposit, but there’s no account minimum to qualify.
• HSBC Bank will give new customers who can deposit $15,000 over the first three months of their new account a $450 promotional bonus.
• Huntington Bank gives new customers $150-$200 if they make a minimum deposit of $1,000 in the first 60 days.

Not ready to switch bank accounts? You can check with your current bank to see if there are any promotions when you open a separate account with them.

17. Flip furniture

I’m sure you’ve seen furniture sitting on the curb for big trash day. Surprisingly this stuff is in pretty good shape, maybe it just needs a little TLC. I think people just don’t want to spend the time it takes to fix up things or sell them.

Besides finding furniture to flip on the curb, you can also find flips at garage sales, thrift stores, and maybe even your own basement. Once you’ve freshened up the furniture, you can sell your flips on places like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

18. Sell your unused gift cards

If you’re like me, you have a handful of unused or partially used gift cards. Instead of letting those just sit, you can sell them to make extra money fast.

Raise and Cardsell are two online gift card marketplace where you can sell your unused or partially used gift cards. You get paid via PayPal, check, or direct deposit.

19. Babysit

Babysitting is a solid way to make money fast if you love working with kids. You can watch kids in your house, go over to a family’s house, or become a nanny. Word-of-mouth is a good way to get started, but you can find even more families if you list your services on Care.com. This platform lets you list your service, explain your experience and more.

20. Get a balance transfer credit card

Credit card debt is financially and emotionally draining, and a balance transfer credit card can be a good way to take control of your finances and start destroying your credit card debt. 

Balance transfer cards come with 0% interest rates for 12-18 months, and the interest rate will jump up after the promotional period is over. These are best for people who know they can pay off the balance in the 0% interest period.

Opening a balance transfer card can put extra money back in your pocket because you’re saving money on interest charges. Once your credit card debt is paid off, you’re saving even more money each month.

21. Get paid to do yard work and maintenance

Mowing lawns, weeding, trimming bushes, raking, planting, shoveling snow, cleaning gutters, power-washing sidewalks, etc. — some people dread these day jobs. That’s why you can make $1,000 fast going around your neighborhood and seeing if anyone is in need of your services.. You can go door-to-door, hand out flyers, advertise your services on NextDoor, or use your social media contacts.

It’s not uncommon to make $20/hour or more doing yard work. Many people don’t like doing this work, but busy people like me pay to maintain our yards because we find our time is better spent on other things (like running this site!).

How to make $1,000 fast – the final word

You just learned about 20+ different ways to make money fast, and combining more than one is the fastest path to $1,000. For example: delivering groceries for Instacart, taking online surveys, and selling your stuff online at the same time will make that money add up much faster than one idea alone.

Consider combining passive ideas, like renting your car, with active ones can boost your earnings even faster.

And don’t forget that there are ways to prepare yourself for the future. As someone who was broke and had nearly $40,000 worth of student debt, I understand how hard it can be. It is a struggle, no joke, but setting yourself up for a good financial future is possible.