Nowadays, the living costs are rising, while our paycheck is barely keeping up. As a result, we get stressed about our finances. We could stretch our income with budgeting, but if it’s not enough and you want to know how to make 500 dollars fast, you’ve come to the right place.
Earning additional income will help ease your struggles with your finances. You will have extra money stashed for family emergencies, when your car breaks down, or other unexpected events.
If you have extra cash, you can prepare in advance, and you don’t have to worry much.
Let’s go over the different ways to earn $500 fast and find the best one for you.
How To Make $500 Fast?
Here is a list of gigs, side hustles, freelancing jobs, and more that can help you earn $500 in a week or less. If you have the determination and work hard, you can make cash in no time.
1. Dog or Cat Sitter
One of the easiest and fluffiest ways to earn $500 is to be a pet sitter. If you love walking dogs and taking care of them, this job is for you!
This type of job is popular in urban areas, making it simple to take up dog-walking customers or cat-sitting gigs per week. You can also offer your services to your neighbor, especially when they travel in summer or during holidays.
Pet sitters have a fixed fee instead of having an hourly rate, meaning you get to set your rate and charge what your services are worth.
You can earn around $8 to $28 per dog with Rover, a platform for people looking for pet sitters within their area. For overnight pet boarding, the rate can go up between $25 to $90 per night.
2. Personal Grocery Shopper
With the current health crisis and restrictions, people go online and hire a personal grocery shopper to buy their groceries. This is another opportunity for you!
As a shopper, your role is to prepare customers’ grocery orders from the Instacart app. You may also do delivery at times and get additional pay. You should be at least 18 years old, can lift at least 30 pounds, and has an insured vehicle and a driver’s license to get hired.
Earning $500 with this job will depend on how many orders you deliver daily and the tips you receive. You’ll make more money during peak hours or peak season, making it possible to earn $500 in a week.
3. Rent Out Your Extra Space
Why not rent out your extra room? You can get an additional income for your unused space, like basements, garages, sheds, or spare rooms.
To advertise, you can visit sites like Neighbor.com. They made it easy for you to create a free listing and let your community know of the available space in your house.
4. Rent Out Your RV
Talking about renting out, you should not miss the opportunity and let your recreational vehicle (RV) sit and get dusty. Go to RVShare, add your RV to the listings and lease it out to people.
RVShare works like Airbnb. You have to register at the website first, list your vehicle for free, and set the price, availability, usage, amenities, security deposit, and upgrades. Users can then view your listing, inquire, and book your RV.
If your listing gets booked, it will pop out of your notifications, and you can now talk to them directly. Meeting up in person is a must to demonstrate how your RV works, and that’s it. Potential customers can ask for details via email or directly to the site.
Also, RVShare offers up to $1M in liability coverage and up to $200k in comprehensive and collision insurance, depending on the value of your RV. If anything happens, you are covered.
5. Offer Unique Services
Do you have a particular skill that you can offer? For example, can you carry out energy audits, stain decks, power wash houses, or car detailing? Some people or companies are looking for you!
Many of our talents may seem irrelevant to others, but they can help us earn a good amount of cash. You can promote on social media platforms to get your potential customers. Even without a special license, certificate, or insurance to do the service, you can start right away.
How To Make $500 Fast With Paid Surveys
Are you looking for work that lets you earn quick bucks in the comfort of your home? We have the best answer to that: paid online surveys!
6. Online Surveys
It can take a while before you reach $500 by answering online surveys, but if you love giving out your opinions and have extra time, this is for you.
Paid surveys can be taken anytime and anywhere, during your free time, or just to earn extra cash. There are plenty of survey sites available:
- SurveyJunkie offers surveys where you can earn more than $20 per survey. Read our full Survey Junkie review for more details.
- InboxDollars is perfect for you if you love a welcome gift. When you sign up using our link, you’ll get $5 immediately! Check our entire InboxDollars review here.
- With Swagbucks, you can do more than just answer surveys. You can watch videos to get paid, play games for money, shop online for cashback, etc. Read our full Swagbucks review here.
Be sure to check before starting your survey to keep away from those surveys that pay lower fees that are not worth your time.
7. Join A Focus Group
Joining a focus group is the same as taking online surveys, but the pay is much better. You get to have options to help businesses make decisions about their products.
Getting into a quality focus group for a company that pays high can be challenging but doable. Let your fingers do the walking and search online for “Focus group near me” to find local opportunities that meet your criteria.
8. Join Rewards Sites
Aside from online paid surveys, you can also join reward sites to make money. Many research platforms provide rewards for users who give reviews on products that brands will launch into the market in the future.
You can check out Branded Surveys, LifePoints, and Survey Junkie for this opportunity. They usually reward their users for doing paid surveys, giving feedback, browsing, or watching videos.
How To Make $500 Fast With Sign-Up Bonuses
Another way to make $500 fast is by signing up for an account that provides promising bonuses. Basically, you get offered to sign up in exchange for a sign-up bonus. Here is a list of them.
9. Sign-up Bonuses for Online Brokerages
Just like bank accounts and credit cards, online brokerages provide sign-up bonuses. For instance, Bux Zero offers its new account holders a free share of stock.
If you haven’t encountered this one yet, this might be the best time to open an investment account. Currently, Bux Zero says the value of their gifted stock may be up to $225, but there is a good chance that its value is only between $2.50 and $10.
Read our full Bux Zero review here.
Another online brokerage that gives welcome bonuses from time to time is M1 Finance. With this online brokerage, you get the opportunity to invest in ETFs without any trading commissions.
Check our full M1 Finance review and start your investment journey.
10. Bank Account Sign-Up Bonus
Financial institutions hook customers by giving out cash bonuses when they sign up. It is a way of making their bank more attractive to potential depositors. You may have a bank you love, but there’s no rule to stop you from opening an account elsewhere.
There are plenty of banks that provide sign-up bonuses. Some of them do transactions online without you going out of your home. The bonuses offered range from $100 or more, and earning them is easy.
The downside? You have to maintain a minimum balance upon opening an account, which may not be ideal for those living paycheck to paycheck.
Besides that, bank sign-up bonuses will less likely be given as soon as you have signed up. You usually get the bonus after 3 to 6 months, during which your account should remain open.
11. Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus
Banks are not the only ones giving sign-up bonuses; so do credit card companies. Getting 500 dollars fast has never been this easy. To qualify for a credit card, you must meet the bank requirements, such as a payslip and a good credit score.
Credit card companies may not always be giving out cash bonuses; some offer certain rewards like bonus points or miles that can be used to cover expenses. You have to keep yourself in check and control your spending habits. If you keep spending more than the bonus, it will not have the best ending.
The secret to keeping the bonuses is to use your credit card wisely and pay your balance in full each month. Be cautious not to open too many new credit accounts since that could affect your credit score.
How To Make $500 Fast by Driving And Doing Deliveries
With a driving license and delivery niches, you can quickly earn up to 500 dollars. You can even do it during your free time or after your day job.
12. DoorDash and Postmates
For food and grocery deliveries, DoorDash and Postmates are your best buddies. These are the companies where you could work and earn money from delivering food and similar goods.
DoorDash and Postmates work similarly to Uber and Lyft. They have many gig opportunities, and you can choose to work however and whenever it is convenient for you. You don’t have to follow a set of schedules.
In addition, you can earn a good amount from tips. You never know: people can be very generous at times.
Read our entire DoorDash vs. Postmates review here.
13. Uber or Lyft
The biggest names for delivering and providing lift services are Uber and Lyft. If you have a vehicle and can shuttle passengers within your area, then you can earn a decent amount as a driver.
With this gig, you can start immediately and get paid on the spot. This is an excellent option if you need money now!
Although, if you dislike traffic and worry about your car’s wear and tear, it might not be a good choice.
How To Make $500 Fast Through Creative Work
Are you a creative individual? Do you like making crafts? You can monetize your hobbies or skills and earn a good amount of money.
14. Flip Items
Flipping items is one of the many options to earn extra income. By flipping, you can sell your items to different social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Amazon, 5Miles, and Poshmark.
Specific sales groups create lists for a singular purpose, like selling pre-loved items, homemade food, or handmade crafts. The more you post or list your items online, the more it will reach your potential customers. You can even set your potential sales within your area of choice.
15. Sell Handmade Crafts
If you are looking for the best site for selling your handcrafted products, Etsy is your go-to site. You can find a lot of stuff on Etsy, like templates, personalized screen-printed tees, mugs, keychains, and even hand-crocheted baby clothes.
You can sell items like greeting cards, house decors, or even minimalist paintings. No matter what your talent is, if you have more exposure, you can sell your crafts to make $500 fast.
16. Yard Sale
Cleaning your house and finding useful and valuable items can help you earn 500 dollars: throw a yard sale! Not only do you get rid of your unused stuff, but you can get more storage space, which you can also rent out.
What’s the downside of having a garage sale? It can be hard to set up.
Don’t worry! You just need to get organized.
First, clear out the space to make way for the sale items. Next, classify everything depending on use, size, and value. Then you can set a price for each item. It’s best to stick price tags on the products so that customers don’t have to ask you each time.
How To Make $500 Fast by Cutting Down Expenses
Whether you are looking for another way to make money or just earning more, it’s good to save money. The best way to do and have more is to cut down on your expenses. Here are some tips on how to do it:
17. Negotiate Your Bills
By negotiating your bills, you can lessen your expenses. By using platforms like Trim, you can find places to save on your utilities, smartphone, and internet bills.
After signing up and linking your bank or credit card accounts with Trim, they will skim your accounts to search for places where you can save more. Trim will eliminate unwanted or forgotten subscription services and negotiate bills for your cable, phone, or internet. It even sends alerts for things like late fees and paydays.
Check our full Trim review here.
18. Cancel Unused Subscriptions
You can lessen your expenses by canceling unused subscriptions, which is a waste of money.
You can use sites like Empower to do it for you. Some people say that they simply forgot about subscribing and demand their money back. You may check our full Empower review and learn the benefits of budgeting.
Even if you are new to budgeting, running your budget through a budgeting app won’t hurt you. The most common overspending issues are unnecessary purchases or subscriptions, such as gym memberships, streaming services, apps purchases, and magazine subscriptions.
Other budgeting apps that you can consider:
- YNAB – a financial budgeting tool that uses zero-based budgeting. Read our entire YNAB review here.
- Mint – a free budgeting app that takes charge of your finances in one place. Check our full Mint review here.
19. Check for Unclaimed Money
Someone might owe you money and not even know it. It can be from the contents of a safety deposit box, apartment deposit or utility refunds, or even uncashed paychecks!
If you are in need of money, you can view these sites and check if you have any unclaimed money:
- Veteran Unclaimed Funds
- Treasury Hunt
- Unclaimed.org
- Workers Owed Wages
If you are due for some money, you have to follow certain guidelines to receive it. You file your claim, observe the processing time, and wait for the check in the mail.
20. Cut Back on Luxuries and Eating Out
Dining out and maintaining a luxurious lifestyle can affect our finances. If you don’t need it, then stop spending on it. It’s a matter of discipline and priority when it comes to protecting your funds.
How about cooking your meal at home? You might discover your Inner Chef and find a new passion that could turn into a money-making venture.
If you love spending on new dresses weekly, it might be best to look at your existing wardrobe with a creative eye. You can mix and match your clothes to make them look trendy, classy, or new.
Cutting back on expenses is not easy, especially if the line between needs and wants gets blurred. Luxuries are not necessary for us to live a happy life. If you don’t prioritize and set sound financial goals, you might struggle to balance your paycheck and your lifestyle.
21. Cash in Your Trash
If you have a lot of empty bottles and aluminum cans around your house, it’s best to take them to a nearby recycling facility for some quick cash. It might not bring $500, but it could help fatten the piggy bank while saving the environment.
You can also search for loose change around the house by checking your pockets, couch cushions, purse, wallet, or even on the floor of your car. To exchange your coins for cash, eGift cards, or charity contributions, you can take your coins to Coinstar, and your local bank can take your coins for cash if you prefer bills.
The Bottomline: How To Make 500 Dollars Fast
Making 500 dollars may not be as hard as you think. Having the right knowledge and skills, you can earn them in a week, a month, or a day! Our list of ways to make money fast should give you an idea about earning that extra income.
While some of these tips may not get you $500 real quick, they can help you gain experience and a decent amount of money to lessen your financial problems. Remember to choose the jobs that fit your schedule and skills. The right side hustle for you can offer endless possibilities.
The more you work with passion, the faster you achieve your goals. Reaching 500 dollars fast is doable. Keep our list in mind and start earning!
Marjolein is a financial consultant who has built over €4,000 monthly passive income and saves over 70% of her income. Read Radicals’ inspiring story, from stuck in the 9-to-5 to loving life. Feel free to send Radical a message at the bottom of this page