Need Money for Rent? 9 Ways to Make Money Now

Picture this: rent is due soon, and you don’t know how you’re going to make the payment. The overwhelming stress may lead you to consider a payday loan or other less desirable ways to get money fast. If you need help paying rent, there are several alternatives available that can help.

Better yet, many of these choices not only provide money for rent; they also allow you to stabilize your finances. After all, financial stability is the goal, so that a situation like this no longer occurs.

If you’re looking for ways to get rent money today, this guide shares a few of the top choices to make that possible.

9 Real Ways to Make Money for Rent

Are you telling yourself, “I need money for rent” and don’t know where to start? There are numerous ways to come up with cash.

Before you act, determine how much you need for your payment. Once you raise the money, create a plan to avoid this in the future.

If you need ideas, here are nine legit ways to make money for rent and gain peace of mind.

1. Deliver Meals

Often one of the top reasons for having a cash shortage is you do not earn enough money. If that’s your case and you don’t know how to get help paying rent, look no further than using side job apps to earn extra cash.

Some of the best-paying side hustle apps allow you to deliver meals to people at their homes or places of work. With many apps, you can create your own schedule and get paid each week.

DoorDash is one of the better on-demand apps people use to make money on the side. If your car is in good shape and you don’t mind driving around town, driving for the app can be a good way to supplement your income.

To be able to drive for DoorDash you need to:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Have a valid driver’s license
• Have an insured vehicle
• Be able to pass a background check that DoorDash runs when you apply
• Have a smartphone, either Android or iPhone to receive orders and payment

Other than that, you don’t need any experience to become a driver. If DoorDash is in your area, you can apply easily on their website.

You can even deliver meals via bike or scooter if your city allows it.

You can read our driving for DoorDash review to learn more.

Postmates is a suitable alternative to make money for rent payments or simply earn cash on the side.

2. Trim Your Monthly Bills

You may find it necessary to apply for rent payment assistance to help make timely payments. If that’s the case, many programs want you to look at your monthly bills to see where you are overspending.

Reviewing your monthly bills may involve cutting expenses, or it may require negotiating a lower price. If you’re like me, the latter is never a fun option.

This is where a bill negotiation service can help you find ways to free up money. Trim is one of my favorite platforms that works by lowering your bills with service providers.

The platform works to cancel subscriptions, lower regular bills like your phone bill, water bill, and more and can get you money back based on outages as well.

To have Trim negotiate a bill for you, simply type in your information on the bill or take a picture of the bill.

Trim is free to try. If they save you money, they keep 33 percent of the savings. This fee may seem steep, but you’re keeping 67 percent, which is more money than you would’ve had if they hadn’t negotiated on your behalf.

If they can’t save you money, you don’t owe anything. If you don’t have the time or desire to negotiate, Trim is worth a try.

3. Take Surveys with Survey Junkie

One of the easiest side hustles that you can do to earn quick cash is taking surveys. One of my favorite sites to take surveys on is Survey Junkie.

All you need to do to get started is sign up for free, complete your profile, and wait for the platform to match you with surveys. You’ll typically receive your first one as soon as your profile is complete.

Each survey on Survey Junkie is worth a specific amount of points. Once you’ve earned 1,000 points, or $10, you can then cash that out for gift cards or to your PayPal account.

You may not earn much from Survey Junkie, but if you need to make money for rent payments every little bit helps. I’m not regularly active on the site and still make about $30 to $75 every month.

You can read our Survey Junkie review to learn more.

4. Walk Dogs with Rover

Are you asking yourself, “How can I pay my rent on time?” but think you don’t have the skills to make extra money? If you love pets, you can earn cash quicker than you might think.

You read that correctly. You can make money through your love of pets through platforms like the Rover app. It’s possible to make money through Rover in the following ways:

• Walking dogs
• Boarding cats or dogs in your home
• Pet sitting

People love their animals, but don’t always have the time to care for them as they want to. So instead, they go on Rover and hire a dog walker, dog sitter, or someone who can let their dog outside while they’re away.

When you side hustle with Rover, you create a profile and start booking clients as soon as your background check is complete.

You also get to charge what you want so a 30-minute dog walk could be as little as $15 or as much as $30.

If you can have animals in your home, you can charge a premium for dog sitting. Doggy hotels charge a small fortune, so people look on Rover for better deals.

I used to side hustle with Rover, and one time I made $300 for just four days of work. I checked in with the dog and took him for a walk once a day.

That was it. So it’s possible to make quite a bit of extra money with dog walking jobs. The site claims you can earn up to $1,000 per month working on the service.

5. Consolidate Your Debt

One of the top reasons why people often need assistance with rent payments is debt. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. However, you may be paying more in interest than you need to.

Refinancing your debt to get a lower interest rate can help you pay it off more quickly.

Fiona by Even Financial is a matching service that lets you simultaneously compare rates from up to 17 lenders to refinance your debt.

It takes less than two minutes to provide your information, and you select the lender you want to work with.

By refinancing, you can save money on interest rates, especially if you’re paying off high-interest credit cards or personal loans. If you have multiple loans or credit cards, it also lets you reduce it to one payment per month.

Beyond your rent payment, if you need to get your finances back on track, consolidating your debt is a terrific option to accomplish that.

6. Sell Your Old Electronics

If you’re anything like me, you most likely have some old devices lying around collecting dust. You can sell used electronics online for cash to free up some money.

This option is best if you have several weeks before your next rent payment, and not if you need money to pay rent tomorrow.

BuyBackWorld is one of my favorite places to sell used devices for cash. You can sell virtually anything on the site, including:

• Cell Phones
• Cameras
• Gaming consoles
• Laptops
• Tablets
• Smart Watches

To receive cash for your old devices, you enter the information on the item on the BuyBackWorld platform. Then, you’ll get an instant quote from BuyBackWorld.

If you accept, they give you a free shipping label to ship your items.

Once BuyBackWorld receives your item(s), they pay you either by check or PayPal. It only takes about a week from the time that you ship your item to the time that they pay you.

7. Donate Plasma

This isn’t the most glamorous choice, but if you need money to pay rent tomorrow, you can donate plasma. You can earn upwards of $400 a month for donating plasma.

If you aren’t afraid of needles, donating plasma can earn you quite a bit of extra money. While you won’t receive $400 all at once, it may be possible to earn $50 or more in one donation to help you pay rent.

Donating plasma for cash is a bit different than donating blood. It involves removing certain portions of your blood to get a clear liquid that can save lives; this is why many centers pay for plasma donations.

There are a few requirements to donate plasma. They include:

• Being at least 18 years old and no older than 69
• Weighing at least 110 pounds
• Being free of infectious diseases
• Having adequate blood and hemoglobin levels
• Having a legal government ID or Social Security card to prove you’re a citizen

Each center and state has different requirements, so make sure to check beforehand.

Once you become an approved donor, you can donate plasma up to two times a week (some places allow three). The process does take a while, upwards of 120 minutes, but you’ll be sitting during that time.

This downtime is also a perfect opportunity to take surveys for more cash!

8. Pick Up Side Gigs through Fiverr

Do you have any digital skills? If so, you can make money for rent with Fiverr. Whether you can edit YouTube videos or proofread novels, you can charge for your digital services with Fiverr.

The great thing about Fiverr is that you can charge as little as $5 for a service, but charge more for special tasks or add-ons.

For example, you can charge $5 to create a super simple logo from a set of premade logos, but $200 if the customer wants a customized logo.

There is no limit to how much you can make with Fiverr selling digital services. Just remember to charge accordingly, get the tasks completed on time, and have fun.

You can earn rent money easily by doing this as a side hustle.

9. Take Advantage of Rent Assistance Programs

If all else fails, and you’re asking yourself, “How can I get help paying my rent?” you can always see if you qualify for assistance. There are many different programs available, and you shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed to use them.

The best way to find what’s available to you is to do an internet search for rent assistance programs in your area.

You will find a mix of government-run programs, plus those offered by different charities, such as United Way. You can also look into national programs like 211.org and Modest Needs to help your situation.

If the current pandemic has impacted you, there is rent relief available depending on what type of mortgage your landlord has on the dwelling.

Additionally, you want to determine how much you should spend each month. Our guide on how much you should spend on rent is a fantastic resource to determine what you should spend.

Things to Avoid When You Need Help Paying Rent

Not being able to pay your rent is a stressful situation. You may fear eviction and make a rash decision. You don’t want to do that.

Here are a few things you should avoid when you need help:

Payday loans – Payday loan lenders market themselves as a solution for people needing money in a pinch. That is a lie.

Payday loans are rife of fees and interest and will likely make your situation worse. Instead, consider other alternatives to payday loans to help in your need for cash.

Similarly, paycheck advance apps are dangerous. Read our guide on the dangers of cash advance apps and why it’s best to avoid the option.

Ignoring your landlord – Avoiding a stressful situation is always tempting. You may want to ignore your landlord if you’re short on rent money.

Don’t ignore your landlord if you’re afraid you won’t have the money to pay rent. Go to them and explain the situation.

They may even surprise you with their empathy and give you a grace period. Additionally, it’s possible they may know of resources that can help.

This can be especially helpful if you’ve lost your job and trying to get back on track.

Bouncing a check – This goes with ignoring your landlord. You may want to write a check that will bounce to buy yourself a few days.

This will only incur bank fees and potentially upset your landlord. Intentionally writing bad checks is also against the law in many places.

Do something illegal – This is obvious, but if you’re looking for ways to get rent money, don’t do anything illegal. If all else fails, pawn something to make money for rent.

Summary

There are countless ways to save or make extra cash to be able to pay your rent on time. Most don’t require special skills or undue sacrifice and let you earn money for rent.

Paying rent every month doesn’t have to leave you worried or stressed. Find an option that works for you and commit to getting back on track to avoid the situation in the future.

What do you do when you need money for rent? What is one area of your personal finances you want to improve this year? How often do you find yourself needing extra money?

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