50 Ways to Make a Fast $50

No matter how carefully you plan, money can run a little short at times. Maybe your child needs new shoes. Perhaps your car broke down, or you just want a night out on the town.

Whatever the reason, if you find yourself needing extra cash, there are plenty of ways to earn it — now more than ever.

Following are 50 ways to make an extra $50 in just a few minutes or a few days.

Perform tasks

• SwagBucks. Watch videos, play games, answer surveys, and use their search engine and this company will pay you for the tasks.
• TaskRabbit. This site connects you with local people willing to pay you for a wide variety of tasks — from light carpentry to picking up takeout food.
• Drive for Uber. If you’ve got a car, put it to use earning extra money in your spare time. You could also drive for Lyft. Click here to find out how much drivers can make ride-sharing.

• Agent Anything. The “agents” are university students who perform tasks. “For the last two years, we’ve provided errand-runners for working moms, beta testers for startups, temp workers for small businesses, and street teams for major corporations,” the site says.
• Zaarly and Thumbtack. These are sites that match people with local folks who will pay to have tasks and errands performed.
• Fiverr. What would you do for $5? Write a love letter for someone? Attempt to eat a tablespoon of nutmeg on video? Market your service on this website for $5 or more.
• Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. You can make a few bucks performing one of the many tasks available at this site. Projects include things like writing product descriptions or selecting the best photograph for a product.
• Field Agent. Another app that pays you to do things like checking prices and scanning bar codes.
• UserTesting.com. You can earn quick cash by looking at someone’s website and figuring out what might be confusing for the average user.
• ReceiptHog. This company will pay you for market research data. Simply snap a picture of your receipt every time you buy something and they’ll send a little money your way through PayPal.

Sitting

• House-sitting. When friends or neighbors go out of town, offer to keep an eye on their house, pick up the mail or water the plants. Don’t know of anyone who’s leaving? Try an online job portal such as Mindahome.com.
• Baby-sitting. Baby-sitting isn’t just for teenagers. Sites likeSittercity and Care.com can connect you with a gig.
• Pet-sitting. What’s better than playing with a puppy? Getting paid for it. You can start with friends or family, or sign up for a national service like Fetch! Pet Care.

Selling

• Garage sales. Garage sales are a great way to declutter your home and earn extra cash. Some cities require a permit for yard and garage sales.
• Consignment shops. Clothing consignment stores accept like-new clothes, shoes and accessories. When the item sells, you get a portion of the proceeds.
• Used-book stores. Stores like Half Price Books buy used books for cash.
• Used-entertainment stores. You can sell used video games, DVDs and even CDs to local resellers, or online through sites likeSecondSpin.com.
• eBay. You can auction off practically anything you own at the grandfather of all auction sites.
• Craigslist. You can sell anything from shoes to cars. You’ll probably want to meet with the buyer and get paid in cash.
• Amazon. You can also sell gently used (or new and unopened) stuff on Amazon. Fees start at 99 cents per item.
• Bonanza. This is a marketplace for both used and new items. You can set your own prices, and the site will collect a small fee for anything you sell.
• Half.com. This eBay-owned website is a good place to sell textbooks, other books, DVDs and other small items.
• Gift cards. Have any gift cards you’re not going to use? Sell them to a reseller like Cardpool or CardCash.
• Old phones. Sell your old smartphone to a site like Gazelle orNext Worth.

Renting

• Rent a room for a few days. You can rent out a room (or even your couch) to vacationers via sites like Airbnb. Note that local regulations might prohibit this type of activity.
• Make your home available. If you’re going to be out of town for a while, rent your house to someone else and earn some cash. Or perhaps you have a second home you can turn into a vacation destination. Sites like HomeAway can help you find guests.

Arts and crafts

• Craft fairs. If you’re crafty, you can sell your wares at local craft fairs. Check FestivalNet.com for upcoming events in your area.
• Etsy. This is a marketplace for artists and crafters where you can sell everything from paintings to knitted scarves.
• RedBubble. If you’re an artist, RedBubble can turn your work into posters, T-shirts and stickers. You do the designing, RedBubble does the selling and shipping.
• Society6. It works like RedBubble but has different options, such as tote bags, throw pillows and laptop skins.
• DeviantART. You can sell photography, classic prints and digital works.
• ArtFire. This site accepts both arts and crafts, “handmade with love,” for sale.
• Foap. Foap lets you upload photos you take with your phone and list them for sale on their website, paying you $5 each time one of your photos is sold.

Find it

• Claim lost money. Possibly the easiest way to make money is to check out Unclaimed.org to see if any state where you’ve lived is holding money you’re owed but haven’t received. Examples include old paychecks, rebates or refunds.

Sell body parts or participate in research

• Sell blood plasma. A local blood bank or hospital may pay for your plasma.
• Participate in medical research. Medical researchers will pay you to participate in clinical trials. Check outClinicalConnection.com.
• Sell your hair. If you have long hair that’s not dyed, you can sell it for a fee on sites like BuyandSellHair.com.

Manual labor

• Mow lawns. All you need is a lawn mower and customers. Start by asking your neighbors.
• Shovel snow. If you live in a cold climate, offer to shovel driveways and walkways for a fee.
• Clean gutters. In the fall, offer to clean out your neighbors’ clogged gutters.
• Clean pools. If you know the best way to keep pool water sparkling, this can be a lucrative gig.
• Clean houses. Know any busy parents? They’d probably be happy to pay you to clean their house.
• Be a mover. If you have a truck, offer to move friends for a fee.
• Wash cars. My neighbor washes almost every car on the block once a week for $10 a pop. He can do the whole block in an afternoon.
• Paint. Some people hate to paint. If you don’t, offer your services.
• Scoop poop. Offer to keep pets’ yards clean. This is particularly lucrative when spring arrives.

Be a researcher

• Surveys. There are plenty of survey-taking scams out there, but there are some legitimate companies, too. Check outPointClub.com and Springboard America.com.
• Marketing studies. Marketing firms like Concepts Consumer Research and retailers often test their products on a panel of paid consumers.
• Secret shopping. Secret shopping is also rife with scams, but there are legit companies offering cash for evaluating a business. Check out the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. You’ll need to get certified, but the site has job listings.
• Gigwalk. If you have a smartphone, you can earn extra cash through the Gigwalk app by doing small jobs like mystery shopping, testing apps or taking photos.

Use your talent

• Caddy. If you love and understand golf and think you’re up to the task — which can be physically taxing — being a caddy can net you some decent money.
• Music teacher. If you have musical talent, offer lessons.
• Tutor. If you are particularly knowledgeable in a certain subject, you can likely find a student who needs help. Check out WyzAnt.com, where you can set your own prices. However, the website does take a cut for its service.
• Personal trainer. As with mystery shopping, you will need to get certified. But if you love to exercise, this can be a relatively lucrative gig.