Five ways to raise £500 in five days – fast emergency cash!

We’ve all been there. 

Despite all our efforts to save money each month, so that when something special comes up the money is there, we never seem to have saved quite enough. Or we are doing really well at paying off our credit card but suddenly there is an exciting opportunity to do something or buy something and we have to fight the temptation to run up debt again.

So what can you do? If, say, you need £500 for something and you need it fast, where do you start?

In this article we look at five ways to raise £500 in five days.

 

1. Sell unwanted goods

We all have things that we don’t really want or need. Why take up space in your home with items that you never use? Especially when you could make a bit of money out of them. 

If you have good quality clothes – adults or children’s – you can sell them online. There are many sites to do this but a quick way to get emergency cash is by advertising them on Facebook Marketplace. You will attract local buyers and could have cash in hand within hours. The same applies to items of furniture, household goods and children’s toys.

Then take a look at your electronic gadgets and other equipment. Items such as unused mobile phones, cameras and musical instruments can be sold to specialist dealers online or, in some cases, direct to High Street stores. There are also many websites, for example Music Magpie, that will buy goods including phones, gadgets, CDs, DVDs, games and Lego, and collect them from your home. 

 

2. Offer your services

You may also have valuable skills that you can earn money from. Don’t underestimate yourself here. You could try advertising locally to provide services such as cooking, cleaning, computer assistance, childminding, pet sitting, gardening or a wide variety of other odd jobs. Some of these could also work longer term as a second source of income, but your current priority is to get cash fast, so put yourself out there and see what you can do.

It’s also worth asking around locally to see if any local businesses need any kind of temporary help that you may be able to take on.

 

3. Redeem gift vouchers

Many of us have gift vouchers that we have never used. Perhaps we have even forgotten about them. Recent research has discovered that an estimated £97.7million was lost on unused shopping vouchers during lockdown.

If you have gift cards that are still in date, you can resell these online on a variety of sites, including Card Yard. So if you are not going to use them, why not make a bit of money instead?

 

4. Pawnbroker shop

Many people don’t realise that pawnbrokers still exist. The idea of a pawnbroker is that if you don’t want to part with goods permanently you can take them temporarily to a pawnbroker. They will give you cash in return for items such as jewellery, computers, video gaming systems, audio visual equipment, cameras and musical instruments. 

If you can repay the pawnbroker within the agreed timescale, you will receive your item back, otherwise they will sell it to get their money back. 

To get started, just Google pawnbrokers in your area and get in touch with them to see if they can help you.

 

5. Car boot sale

Ok, you may not make £500 from this last idea but it could certainly be a great start. You will be amazed at what people will buy. Not only will you make some good money but also have the benefit of clearing out a load of clutter too. 

So investigate when local car boot sales are happening and which may be the best for you. 

Then check out our recent article How to have your best car boot sale ever to find out plenty of tips on how to make your car boot sale a roaring success.

 

We hope that the above ideas help you to get together the money you need for your special purchase or exciting opportunity. Why not try using all five, with the aim of raising just £100 from each?

But if you need any additional financial boost over and above this, remember that Simple Fast Loans offers online loans, which could be another source of short term help for you. 

Remember to check back here soon for more financial and lifestyle tips from Simple Fast Loans