How to Make $1000 Fast | Simple Steps to do Today

If you need to make $1000 fast, here's a method that enabled us to make $1000 quickly, and was the start of our emergency fund.

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Who hasn’t at one time or another, thought about how to make $1000 fast? Sound familiar? If it does, you’re not alone, since nearly 70% of Americans have less than $1000 saved, and 45% have nothing saved.

With no cash cushion, it’s only a matter of time before a car repair, or some other emergency catches you short. Charging it on a credit card gets you back on the road, but it’s also one of the main reasons why almost 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck their entire career.

So today, we’re gonna devise a plan to make $1000 fast. If you’re living on the edge now, this could be the start of an emergency fund that’ll enable you to finally have predictable expenses.

Or maybe your sister’s wedding is coming up. Or you’d like to surprise your partner with a little birthday getaway. Or you’d just like to make it through the holidays without going into debt.

20+ Proven Ways to Make $1000 Fast

Before spending time and energy trying to generate more income, let’s see where we can get a head start with a lot less effort.

Find Money You Already Have

Ben Franklin said, “Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship”. Ben would have freaked at some of the expenses we have now. But we can still plug some leaks and get a head start on making $1000 fast.

I’ll raise my hand first. As I’m writing this, I’m looking across the room at a treadmill that’s got every bell and whistle that those at the gym have. And I haven’t set foot on it in over a year!

How about you? What’s around your home or in your closets that may have been useful to you at one time, but just isn’t anymore?

Exercise equipment.
Clothing or shoes you no longer wear.
Electronic devices like phones, laptops, game consoles.
Kitchen gadgets.
Furniture.
Musical instruments.

Decluttering your space can have a big effect on your mental clarity, but chances are, there’s several hundred dollars hiding in your closets.

There’s one key though, to making your $1000 challenge work…

Bank it Immediately

It’s easier than you might think to make $1000 fast, but a critical part is to bank your savings immediately in a dedicated account. Separating your savings goal from the money you pay bills with is important.

For instance, if I switch phone services to save $80 a month, unless I start depositing $80 a month into a separate account, that savings will just be swallowed up somewhere else.

We opened an online account with CIT Bank called the savings builder account. It pays one of the nation’s top rates for savings accounts – about 11x the national average. They’re FDIC insured just like local banks, but they pay much higher rates because they don’t have brick and mortar branches.

Question Every Expense

Kevin O’Leary, of the TV show ‘Shark Tank’ said, “So much of life is a negotiation – so even if you’re not in business, you have opportunities to practice all around you”.

So many expenses we take for granted can probably be reduced, either through a five-minute call or switching to another provider.

Internet service
Cell phone service
TV content providers
Insurance policies
Credit Card balances
Even utility companies

We managed to save almost $100/month recently by switching phone service providers.

Insurance coverage is also a great place to check. They’ll usually discount your payments if you use auto-pay, but that’s a double-edged sword. Because as the price creeps up, and you’re not physically writing out a payment each month it can slide under the radar for years.

Here’s a perfect example:

I’ve used Allstate for auto and home insurance for over a decade, thinking that by bundling them I was getting a discount. Three weeks ago, I was curious and requested an estimate through Policy Genius (not an affiliate link).

Within 24 hours, they emailed quotes from 3 different companies, all of which were hundreds of dollars less than what I was paying, with the same coverage.

I decided to go with Progressive, and the bottom line is, for about 30 minutes of effort, we’ll be saving about $2700 a year between auto and home insurance.

So there’s $225 a month toward our goal of making $1000 fast!

Finding cheaper insurance is easier now. You don’t need to provide your phone number and then field phone calls for the next two weeks. Just grab your current policy and go to an unaffiliated site.

I’m still surprised we were able to save $2700 for no charge, and not a single minute on the phone.

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Make $1000 Fast by Providing Services

If you’ve already scoured your home for sellable items, and re-negotiated some of your expenses, there are plenty of services you can provide to earn money.

Here are some easy to start gigs that’ll help you to make $1000 quickly.

Make Money Cleaning Homes

Spending two hours cleaning your own house on a Saturday morning may seem like the pits. But what if someone handed you a crisp hundred dollar bill when your were done?

My wife and her friend began cleaning homes to work around our kid’s school schedules. They each made $50 an hour, and within just a few months, had about 15 regular customers.

Basic house cleaning is something any of us know how to do. On the first visit, you’d discuss what ‘ll be done each week, write it down, and each keep a copy. House cleaning fits the bill of making $1000 fast because you can literally start this weekend.

Carry Out Tasks on Your Own Schedule

It’s easy to take for granted, the simple tasks we do for ourselves every day that someone else can’t. Maybe picking up a package, or dropping off someone’s dry cleaning. Or assembling a piece of furniture.

One advantage of the gig economy is that you can get paid through apps like TaskRabbit or Amazon Home Services to perform services locally.

You can pick and choose whatever you want to do, and get paid right after you’re done. You never know, you may find a particular in-demand service you enjoy and can do over and over.

Four Ways to Make $1000 Fast Using Your Car

The average car spends around 95% of it’s life sitting, unused. And since it’s one of the fastest depreciating assets we own, why not put it to use? Here are several ways to earn money with your car.

Get Paid to Deliver food

Food delivery no longer means sitting in a hot, greasy kitchen waiting for orders. You, or you and your friend can hang in your car and select whatever deliveries you want. You don’t need to carry a wad of cash in your pocket, and many deliveries now are contactless.

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Make Money Renting Your Car Out

Talk about passive income! If your car sits unused so much, why not have it generate some cash while you’re busy? If you’re working from home these days, you may not miss it for a few hours here and there.

This is income that you don’t need to exchange hours for, and even if it just covers your gas and insurance, it’ll help to reach your $1000 goal.

Here are 2 companies to check out:

Turo is like an Airbnb for cars. It connects renters to car owners. You can make your car available whenever you want, and establish any pickup location. You’d either meet someone at a specified location, or right in front of your home.

The Turo app has a “Carculator” that’ll show you exactly what your model car would rent for.

Want to try it out? Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

A car 12 years old or newer, registered and insured in your state.
Just create a free profile and upload a few photos of your vehicle.
Update the app’s calendar to show when your vehicle is available.
Turo is partnered with Liberty Mutual insurance and will provide up to 1 million in liability insurance, and they’ll protect your car against theft and physical damage.

Getaround is another way to make money renting your car out. As long as it has less than 125k miles on it, they’ll cover you with insurance and pay you monthly for your rentals.

They screen the driving records of all renters, and if you participate in their Getaround Connect program, they can even digitally unlock your car if you can’t be there.

Wrap Your Car and Get Paid to Drive Around

Another way to make $1000 fast without exchanging hours of your life, is to have your car wrapped by an advertising agency. The average earnings for a wrapped car are around $200-$300 per month, but could be higher depending on the amount of the car that’s covered.

Two legitimate companies who’ll wrap your car are Carvertise, and Wrapify. If you check out others, just avoid any company who charges you money up front to do the wrapping.

Driving a rolling billboard may seem odd, but if it pays for your gas or insurance, your goal of making $1000 quickly becomes closer every week!

Rent Out a Room

If you’ve got a clean, comfortable spare room, it can be a source of steady income through Airbnb. It’ll require very little time, and it’s so lucrative that over 14,000 people per month have started renting their space out in 2020.

Getting started is pretty simple. Just create an account, describe your space and any amenities that may be beneficial, and note when it’s available. Upload a few photos and you’re all set.

Negotiate With Your Employer

If you’re not working from home now, is there a possibility any of your duties could be done remotely? If even some of them can, and you can negotiate a few days a week from home, then money spent on commuting, clothing and lunches can be funneled toward your goal.

Write Articles for Money

You don’t need a college degree to write for websites or blogs. Is there something you have an interest or experience in? Try pitching a few ideas to blogs or business sites.

It may take several tries before you get a paid gig, but once you have a few under your belt, you’ll not only make $1000 fast, you may be able to quit your day job.

Holly Johnson did just that. She pitched a few websites while working for a funeral home. Over the course of a year or so, she gained enough experience and clients to quit her day job and never looked back.

Today, she regularly earns over $200,000 per year. She created a great online course, Earn More Writing that’s geared toward someone with no paid writing experience. It coaches students through getting your first job, best practices, and then how to gradually raise your rates.

Get Paid to Walk

Yes, you can actually get paid to walk. You won’t be able to pay your mortgage with the money you earn, but it’s enough to motivate anyone to get up and out. In fact, some apps will pay you for walking and other types of exercises. Even walking around the office.

Make $1000 Fast as a Virtual Assistant

If you’ve got basic skills in anything from data entry to customer service, email or social media management, or dozens of other tasks, you can get paid to work from home.

Larger companies can save money on benefits and office space by paying freelancers. And smaller companies or entrepreneurs may not need full-time employees, but have a ton of work they can’t handle.

Working remotely has become more popular every year, but 2020 has shown us that getting paid to work from home is now commonplace.

Where can you find work?

Many VA’s find work through Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Also, try scanning some articles on blogs about VA’s and read the comments. Because some of the people who read and comment are the same ones who may be looking for a VA.

Or try a site like PeoplePerHour which is dedicated to connecting freelancers with paying clients.

Get Paid to Walk or Babysit Pets

Walking dogs may not seem very lucrative, but you’d be surprised. With almost 50 million dog owners in the U.S., there’s always a market to make $15-$20 for a quick walk of less than 30 minutes. If you need a flexible way to make $1000 fast, dog walking could be just the ticket.

Another way to earn that $1000 dollars quickly is to babysit pets for a night or two. In our area, kennels start at about $40/night, per pet. If you offered a clean, safe place for neighbors to drop their pet for a night or two at a reasonable price, your calendar can fill up quickly.

If you’re not sure how to get started, a site like Rover can set you up quickly. Even if you’d rather work for yourself, Rover can provide a good foundation of best practices until you’re ready.

Earn a Steady Income With a Temporary Job

Yes, you’ll need to exchange your hours for money here, but if you’re goal is to make $1000 fast, a steady paycheck, even temporarily, will do it.

There’s still a lot of flexibility in the work you do. In fact, you may not even need to leave home. Here are 20 large companies in various areas, who regularly hire work from home employees.

Another option is to check a site like Flexjobs. You’ll pay about $15 for a month of access, but you’ll find dozens of remote jobs that’ll help you to earn $1000 fast.

Tips That’ll Help You to Make $1000 Fast

Keep Your Eye on the Goal

Whatever your goal is… losing weight, learning to play the piano, or saving $1000, it’ll help to focus on the change your goal will bring, instead of a number.

If you’re trying to make $1000 quickly to serve as an emergency fund, reaching your goal will mean finally having a predictable budget. You’ll no longer need to put things like car repairs on a credit card. You’ll be able to focus on life goals, rather than juggling bills.
Or maybe you’re trying to make $1000 quickly to pay off debt. In fact, Dave Ramsey says carrying debt is an emergency. Because as long as you’re shelling out hundreds a month on debt, you’re not able to build wealth. So reaching your goal here could mean turning the corner and leaving paycheck to paycheck life behind.

To keep your goal in focus, separate this money from your checking account. Save it in a dedicated account so you’ll know exactly how close you are. And whenever you manage to reduce a regular expense, increase your deposit into your goal account.

Control Your Environment

James Clear mentioned in his book, Atomic Habits, that up to 40% of what we do each day is the result of habits. We repeat things like morning routines, favorite meals, favorite activities etc.

Our habits tend to put us in certain environments that can either help or hurt our efforts to make progress. So if we control our environment, we can control the outcome.

To save $1000 fast, taking control of certain situations can help:

Try unsubscribing from clothing or other stores that send sales emails every other day.
Or choose to stay away from the mall.
Try planning food shopping to avoid last minute take-out orders and impulse buys.
Or plan weekends around activities that aren’t expensive.

Of course, the object isn’t to strip every joy from your life. It’s just to be intentional about the situations you put yourself in so it’s easier to stay focused.

Making $1000 Fast is a Worthy Goal but it’s Only a Start

If you combine a few of these methods you’ll see that earning $1000 quickly isn’t impossible. But nonetheless, continuing to push yourself to jump through short-term hurdles can be tough.

If you’re trying to crush your debt or build an emergency fund, then sure, an all hands on deck effort can be worthwhile to put yourself in a better position.

But once you do, it’s the slow, steady 1% improvements that’ll have the biggest impact on the trajectory of your finances.

Things like:

Paying yourself first every week.
Tracking expenses with a budget.
Recording your net worth each month, and knowing why it went up or down.

How about you?

Are you up for the challenge of making $1000 fast? It’s a pretty attainable goal that could be the start of something big!