Broke and not yet payday? Here's how you can make money fast

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned and you run out of cash before the next payday.

While we hope this never happens to you when you really really need the cash, here are a few emergency measures you can take to survive until then.

1. Sell items on Carousell

Look around your house for non-essentials, which can be anything from clothes to furnishings. Make a list of all these items, take pictures, and then put them on Carousell.

You can get cash for these items relatively fast. Every dollar counts when you’re waiting for payday!

If you’re really desperate, a good item to resell, is your phone…

2. Take up a side hustle

Once your bank account is totally dry, you are past the point of budgeting. There is nothing else to cut. You will have to focus your efforts on getting some form of side-income.

Try to go for simple tasks with an immediate payout. Think dog-sitting or fetching someone’s groceries.

Complex tasks like web development, or helping someone to do their accounts, pay more; but the money is seldom immediate.

These gigs are worth considering in advance if you know you’re going to run out of money soon. Remember to factor in transport.

3. Get a low-interest personal loan

Do not end up in a vicious cycle where you constantly have to borrow money to get through the month.

But if you need a large sum of cash now and feel confident about repaying monthly instalments, get a low-interest personal loan.

This can help you deal with your most urgent expenses without straining your budget.

Personal loan interest rates start as low as 4.5 per cent p.a., and it’s also cheaper than using a credit card cash advance, which has an interest rate of 25 per cent p.a. or higher.

4. Borrow items, not money

People are usually more willing to lend goods than to lend cash.

For example, you are likely to get a better response if you ask a friend or relative to spot you a few packets of instant noodles or eggs, than if you ask to borrow money.

It’s also better to borrow, say, soap powder or the use of a washing machine, than to try and borrow cash to get your laundry done. Borrow the items that you need first; only attempt to borrow cash as a last resort.

5. Pawn your items

Pawn shops will pay you based on the item you put up. Most will give you up to six months to buy back the item before auctioning it off.

The interest on the loan is about one per cent for the first month, rising to 1.5 per cent on subsequent months.

One advantage of using a pawn shop is that your loan cannot spiral out of control; once the six months are up, the worst that can happen is that your item will be sold.

Plus there’s also the possibility of getting your item back if you can afford to buy it back in the next few months.

This article was first published in Her World Online.