What can you do with $300? If you’re a couple, you can already buy a month’s worth of groceries. You can also use it to pay bills like your monthly car premium or student loan, or pay for whatever unexpected expense that may come your way.
An unexpected windfall is something all of us would always welcome. But you don’t have to wait for you to be lucky to earn an extra $300. There are ways that you can do for you to make $300 in just a week. I am going to list a few of them here and hope that in no time, you’ll be on your way to cashing in your first quick $300.
Ready? Here we go.
Ways to Make 300 Dollars Fast
1) Sell Balloons
You may think this is ridiculous but, yes, you can earn an extra $300 by selling balloons, money balloons that is. Selling money balloons is among the many unique ways to make money fast.
Here’s what you need to do. Head over to your local dollar store and buy helium balloons. They usually sell for $1 each, but if you’re lucky and they’re on sale, you can buy two for the price of one. Be sure to get balloons for different occasions--birthdays, graduations, anniversaries--and the plain ones, too. Have then blown up and then take them to the bakeries in your area.
But why bakeries? They’re usually very willing to buy the balloons if you do your sales pitch right. Local bakeries will need balloons to go with the cakes that people will buy. So as the seller, you anticipate the possibility that the occasion will call for balloons and the buyer won’t have time anymore to head over to another store to buy them.
If the bakery gives in to your sales pitch, create a contract. Make sure you indicate that you will often restock, say at least once a day, and how much you and the bakery stand to receive. So the trick is to sell each balloon for $3--give $1 to the bakery and keep the $2.
What If They’re Not Interested?
You have to be open to the possibility, though, that not all local bakeries will buy your balloons. It’s possible they’re already selling these, or don’t want to add balloons to the list of items they’re selling. But then again, there’s no harm in trying, more so when you have several bakeries in your area.
However, you may want to explore other options especially when there are only a few bakeries in your locality. You can try offering balloon packages; buy a helium tank and balloons, and create the balloon packages at home. That way, you don’t have to go to the balloon store often, and you get to be creative with your balloons.
Be mindful of how you price your packages. Ultimately, that is the key to ensuring that you will earn from this venture. Don’t undercharge but don’t overprice, too.
2) Sell Your Stuff
Sell your stuff. Yes, you can, and it will not make you any less of a person if you do that. Selling stuff is one of the easiest ways to earn money, especially when you need it.
All you need to do is find time to look around your place for things that are just lying around. If you haven’t touched these things in at least six months, it’s about time to get rid of them. That should tell you they’re not needed at home. Look for the usual bestsellers--movies; books; video games; cell phones; and pre-loved clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories that are still in excellent condition.
Head over to Craigslist to hook up with potential buyers in your area. That’s the fastest way for you to dispose of these items quickly. You may also visit these sites to check out more ways to reach potential buyers. If you need to sell old furniture pieces, sell them here.
You may also try Facebook’s Marketplace. The good thing about using this platform is that there’s a big chance you know who the buyer and communication won’t be a problem.
If you’re not in a hurry to sell your items, you may try selling them on Gone, an app that lets you send photos of the things you want to sell. You will then be given a quote for the items and where you could sell them. You can expect payment in 30 days.
3) Rent Your Car or Space
Take advantage of the growth being enjoyed by the sharing economy. If you have extra space at home, or even your car, have it rented out.
Check out Turo if you’re willing to have your car rented out. Turo offers a rental fee according to your car’s market value and for how long it’s going to be rented out. For example, if your vehicle is worth $10,000, you could earn about $250. What’s good about Turo is you can rest assured that there’s going to be insurance just in case your car is stolen or damaged while being rented out.
To rent out space, you may go to Airbnb, Agoda, Booking or SpareRoom. If you don’t have extra space but is in really in dire need of money, you may have your room rented out and ask a friend to “adopt” you for a week.
If it’s clean, well-maintained, has adequate facilities and is in a good location, your room may command a rental fee of $300 or more for one week.
4) Does Anyone Owe You Money?
This could sound ridiculous but recalling whether anyone owes you money is a sure way of having money when you need it. The thing with this one, though, is that it’s dependent on whether the one who owes you money has the cash to pay you back when you ask them to.
If you can’t recall of any person who might owe you money, check out online. There could be companies, or even the government, who could help you. You may visit any of these sites:
• Unclaimed or UnclaimedMoney: These sites allow you to check whether the government owes you money in the form of unclaimed assets, insurance claims, etc.
• MissingMoney: This is similar to Unclaimed and will help your unclaimed property and assets in different states. Check this site weekly as data is added every week.
• Class Action Rebates: Check whether there are class action rebates from products or services you have used in the past. When you go for this option, you have to make sure you still have the receipts with you.
My only concern about this option is that it does not give you the money you need right away. You will have to wait for some time--several weeks even--to get your money.
5) Overpaid for Something?
Ever felt that you had paid more money than you should have for things bought online? Check out Paribus, a tool that scans your email for receipts for anything that you purchased online. These receipts are then stored in the Paribus system.
What Paribus does is it alerts you if it finds the same item you’ve bought being sold for a much lower price elsewhere. What’s more, is that it pays you the difference, which will be reflected as a refund in your original payment method. You have to be willing to wait for up to seven working days to get the overpayment.
6) Tap Trim
Trim is a tool that allows you to save money every month by monitoring all your financial accounts and alerting you of ways by which you can save.
What Trim does is it links to your credit card accounts, subscriptions, and utility bills, and checks whether you are getting the best prices. It also cancels subscriptions that you no longer need.
7) Help Others
Pet sit, housesit, babysit. Be of assistance to anyone who needs a helping hand in anything and get paid for it.
The thing about wanting to make money is having to work for it. And if you need extra cash, then you have to work harder.
Check out Caretaker and SitterCity for sitting and caregiving jobs in your area. You will be amazed at the number of opportunities available and the amount of money you can make, as long as you make time for it.
Conclusion: How to Make 300 Dollars in a Week
I am sure it never crossed your mind that selling balloons is one way to give you fast cash when you need it.
Give any (or all) of these options a try and see how much money you can make.
Are there any more money-making ideas you can think of or have tried doing?
Share your experiences by leaving a comment below.