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It’s almost the first of the month, and you know what that means: the rent money is due.
The only problem with this scenario is that you’re a bit short this month and need to stuff your wallet fast.
If this sounds like you, read on.
7 Ways to Get Rent Money When You Need It
Check out these tips and tricks to earn rent money in a jiffy.
1. Get refunds on your other bills.
If you’re having trouble making rent, you may have trouble making other payments as well.
And often when you don’t make payments on time, you get charged a late fee.
Did you know that there are tactics you can use to potentially get these late fees refunded?
It’s true! The only thing is that you have to go through the trouble of awkwardly calling up your bank and credit card companies and asking them to refund your late fees.
This can be time-consuming, and you often need to know the right language to use to get a refund.
The good news is that there is a new website called Trim that aims to help you get refunds on these late fees without you having to talk to anybody.
You simply sign up on the Trim website and let it do the work for you.
2. Get a short-term loan.
While perhaps not ideal, borrowing money is certainly an effective way to come up with rent money fast.
Many people incorrectly think that applying for a loan and receiving the funds can take weeks or even months.
Others believe that you have to have a high credit score to be approved for a loan.
Thankfully, those things aren’t true.
Sites like BadCreditLoans.com have made it possible for people with less-than-ideal credit to be approved for small loans.
3. Build a residual business.
This one may take some time, but they can be very powerful, earning you potentially up to hundreds of dollars a day.
Unlike many apps that have “kid stuff” referral programs that give you $5 or so when you refer another user to the app, some apps have the potential for you to build recurring, residual revenue over time.
These apps keep paying you whenever your referrals use the app and even when your referrals’ referrals use the app.
Below are my two of my favorite examples of apps like this.
- GetUpside: This is a gas cash back app with massive potential for residual earnings.
- Fluz: This is an online shopping portal that offers residual income potential all the way to your 14th-degree referrals. Sign up using our link or use referral code MONEYDONERIGHT and you will earn a portion of cash back on your referrals’ using the app.
4. Take some quick online surveys.
Look, I’m not going to lie to you.
You’re not going to get rich taking online surveys, no matter what some spammy survey sites say.
But if you’re willing to take the time to share your opinion on your laptop or cell phone, you can make enough money to hold you over and make rent this month.
Our favorite survey site is called Survey Junkie.
It has an 8.7 out of 10 trust score on TrustPilot, and it doesn’t spam your email address with spammy offers.
And the surveys that Survey Junkie dishes out can be pretty interesting oto.
5. Deliver food.
Delivering food can be a great way to earn extra money.
Unlike driving passengers around in a rideshare like Uber or Lyft, you don’t really have to talk to people if that’s not your thing.
You can be your own boss and set your own schedule with Postmates.
6. Get paid for walking into stores.
We’re a big fan of cash back apps, but the issue with most of them is that in order to make money with them, you have to buy something first.
And if you’re having a hard time paying rent, you may not be in a position to go on a shopping spree right now.
Good news: there’s an app called Shopkick that will pay you simply for downloading it and walking into stores like Target, Walmart, Walgreens, TJ Maxx, and more.
7. Evaluate products before they hit the shelf.
Vindale Research, a company operated by market research company Nielsen, focuses on product testing for goods yet to be publicly launched.
When you sign up to become a Vindale Research panelist, you typically receive merchandise in the mail and then evaluate it.
You get a $1 sign-up bonus and are compensated up to $50 per survey.
More Useful Tools for Renters
Here is some more helpful information for renters to boost their financial situation.
1. Make sure you’re paying as little as possible for renter’s insurance.
One expense that slips by most people without being checked every now and then is renters insurance.
See, the traditional insurance company model is getting more and more outdated with their high deductibles and premiums.
Take new insurance company Lemonade for example.
They take a simple flat fee, and everything else goes into a collective claims pool that they protect for their users in case they need to make a claim.
Since Lemonade doesn’t profit from the claims pool (like other, older insurance companies), leftover money is donated to charities that users choose when they sign up.
Lemonade’s self-stated goal is to transform insurance from a necessary evil into a social good.
They offer renters insurance for as low as $5 a month.
2. Make sure you’re paying as little as possible for auto insurance.
Another expense that everyone with a car has is automobile insurance; after all, it’s the law to be insured in most states.
And here’s the thing: a common auto insurance company trick is to give you “the lowest rate around” when you first sign up with them, but then year-by-year they jack up your premiums.
For this reason, it’s absolutely imperative that drivers get new quotes at least a few times a year.
But good thing for those of us with an Internet connection, you can now save up hundreds of dollars per year on car insurance simply by showing Gabi a picture of your current policy, for free.
Gabi users have saved an average of $865 per year on their car insurance.
This is money that could go toward rent or other expenses throughout the year.
Author:
Logan is a practicing CPA and founder of Choice Tax Relief and Money Done Right. After spending nearly a decade in the corporate world helping big businesses save money, he launched his blog with the goal of helping everyday Americans earn, save, and invest more money. Learn more about Logan.
I know some medical companies that are paying for plasma. It’s simple but be cautious if you are eligible for it.
Why do u say be cautious if eligible?
I used to donate plasma, I can’t anymore. Last time I almost past out. The payed me and said to go. On my way home I had to pull over, sleep for two hours and then I puked and was hardly able to make it home. I don’t know about any other plasma places but this one doesn’t tell care about your safety, they shouldn’t have let me leave.
Hi Ronald. That’s a great idea! We put together an article on making money donating plasma.
I didn’t see anything that will actually pay enough to help with rent.
None of those are useful suggestions. Most only pay cents on the dollar and the time you woumd have to invest to make any amount worthy of using you could have worked a side job and made a significant dent in the rent. Not only that but most of those suggestions require you WAIT for the money which most people looking to supplement for rent dont have timw to do. Good to know information but not at all helpful in paying rent like to title misleads you to believe.
I truly wish that I could post a screen shot. I’ve made $71 in the last 1.5 weeks with survey junkie.
Hold your volume button and your power button down at the same time.
This year with ibotta I’ve received about $140. The surveys over $200. Those are just 2 ways. I am on disability so these suggestions really work for me. There’s great sites and not so great. Gotta research, but trying them out is the best way. I’m having trouble narrowing down the ones that I don’t have time for vs, sites that make me the most money cause so many really do pay well. These really work. Do your homework with them.
Im on disability as well. Would you be willing to share your list of which ones you have that you benefit most from?
I’d LOVE LOVE LOVE to know her list as well if possible…I just turned 61 a few days ago on the 26th of December…I’m 100% disabled/crippled… Shall I say…Living on a little monthly disability check,,, barely gets the roof over my head & food on my table soo I’d really appreciate any “LEGIT” surveys you would pass my way! I love doing surveys & I do have a few that I do on Ma regular basis but OMG I’m definitely not offered any surveys that pays more than a lil CHUNK CHANGE!! 🙏🤷🏻♀️ “Qmee” is the one that I do on a daily!
Heyy ya’ll any advice & any suggestions will be…GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Thanks 🙏 🤷🏻♀️👍
Donate plasma. It works
Interesting tips.
No way would those suggestions help with my rent. I pay $1500/mo. This doesn’t include utilities. If I could get the money to move into a cheaper apartment, I would.
This list was made for go getters its funny the brokest people always acting like they too good to make money
I’d say it is for people that didn’t lose their job and are too busy looking for a new one to do these things, or don’t have the resources to do them. Not everything comes to “thinking you’re too good” or “being lazy” and such.