Hello friends! I remember this one time a couple of years ago, when I met my friend Carina at a rooftop in Bucktown to plan a spontaneous trip to Europe. We were set to leave six weeks later, which was pretty insane, but we made it work and we made it happen. The big obstacle, of course, was money: as you might have heard, it doesn’t grow on trees, and even if it did, it definitely wouldn’t grow in less than six weeks. However, there are ways to make money fast for a trip: I’ve compiled for you all the tips and tricks that I usually share with my friends and have worked for me so far. Here we go!
Selling Clothes and Other Stuff
1) Poshmark
Selling clothes that you don’t need, or want, or that simply don’t fit you right is a great way to make some quick money. If you live in the United States, a great way to do that is through Poshmark. The website takes care of the postage fee, which is great, but you do have to share your clothing items multiple times so that someone sees them and buys them. The good news is, there are so many users on Poshmark that you can actually make a bit of money off of it. Bad news is, the website keeps 20% of your earnings and does not find buyers for you, so it requires a bit of effort. Want to go through my clothes and finance one of my next trips? Here’s my link!
2) Plato’s Closet
Plato’s Closet is a wonderful thrift shop chain that’ll take your clothes, select the items that they’ll resell, and pay you cash on the spot. It’s great if you want to make quick money, because they will buy the clothes off of you to resell your stuff in their stores: therefore, you get paid immediately, without having to wait for your item to be sold. Only con is, they usually don’t accept that many items, so it’s hard to make a good amount of money off of Plato’s.
3) Thred Up
I’ve heard of mixed experiences using ThredUp. Some people love it, because it does all the work for you. You literally order a bag, fill it with clothes, mail it back (they pre-label it for you), and then they sell your stuff to other people for you. Easy enough, right?
However, I’ve heard many complaints on the fact that they do not accept everything and pay really little. You’d make more money selling on Poshmark, but it’ll take more time and effort.
I’ve been lucky with them, but I used them only once, so I don’t really have an opinion. When I did send them some clothes, they accepted everything and all the items sold in a matter of weeks. They either pay you once they receive your item or when it sells, depending on the product. I made about $60 from clothes that I was going to donate or throw away, so it was a win for me.
4) Selling on Let Go/Facebook Marketplace
Here are two other options to sell your stuff that I’ve never used: Let Go and Facebook Marketplace. What’s great about them is that you can sell pretty much anything, without being limited to just clothes. Again, I haven’t had any experience with these two, but if you have, let me know in the comments!
Jobs Jobs Jobs
5) Keeping a go to job
If you’re going to leave this blog post with only one takeaway, let it be this: always keep a go-to job. Chances are, you know of someone who always needs some type of help. These are usually not the most glamorous jobs, but they’re available and can be useful to make some quick cash. Think working quick events, cleaning spaces, mowing lawns, babysitting, dog sitting etc. For example, my go-to job used to be the restaurant I worked at. I only worked there a couple of nights per week, but whenever I needed to save up for the summer, I would pick up extra shifts during the day and/or on other nights. It was seriously the perfect set up for me, because it allowed me to pick up extra hours when I needed more money. And yet, there is an even better go-to job, which brings us to…
6) Babysitting
Babysitting is the king of quick paying and flexible jobs. If you don’t like kids, I’m very sorry: you’re missing out on some serious cash. Babysitters are paid between $13 and $20 per hour, in exchange for taking care of children, playing with them and performing light housekeeping duties. I personally love babysitting: it’s true, it’s exhausting, especially with younger kids, but other than being well paid, it’s flexible, fun and rewarding. Disclaimer: at times, you’ll have to deal with terrible kids and even worse parents but other times, through babysitting you will get to know amazing people that you would’ve never met otherwise. I’m still very close with the family I babysat for for about two years, and therefore I would strongly recommend babysitting not only to whoever needs to make quick cash, but also to anyone looking for a fun, rewarding experience and long-lasting connections.
There are tons of websites out there dedicated to babysitting (Care.com, Sitter City, Bambino, etc.) but what I have used the most in the past were local Facebook groups – see if there are any mommy groups in your area, or even specific babysitting groups! – and word of mouth. There are always families in need of childcare: this is your chance!
7) Shiftgig
I have never used Shiftgig personally, but I’ve worked similar positions that I found through networking/word of mouth. Shiftgig provides you with flexible work opportunities such as working an event, a registration desk, a festival, an experiential marketing set up etc. It’s mostly brand ambassador-like type of jobs, such as passing out samples or fliers, greeting guests and such. My friend Carina did a lot of this type of work when we were saving up for our trip, and it worked very well for her, because she was able to fit these gigs into her schedule. I’d be excited to try it myself should the opportunity arise!
8) Dog Walking
Just like babysitting, dog walking works great to earn quick cash by performing an easy task. Walk someone else’s pup around the neighborhood and get paid for it. Here in Chicago, we have two valid options of apps that you can use to do so: Wag and Rover (we use Rover for Spud!) However, you can definitely find people in need of a dog walker through word of mouth. Put it up on social media, you never know which one of your contacts might need help with their doggies!
9) Dog Sitting
Many people can’t afford to take their dog with them when traveling: therefore, they have to rely on someone else to take care of their pup while they’re gone. Here’s where a dog sitter comes in: to take the dog into a loving home for a few days, feed him, walk him and play with him. It’s an easy job, but it can bring in some serious cash: Edo and I have had to rely on dog sitters who were asking up to $75 per day, so I suggest that you really consider it if you have a dog free home. Unfortunately, we have Spud already, a giant 95 pounds Great Pyrenees, who’s not the nicest around other dogs. We tried dog sitting for a friend before, but it didn’t work out. However, if you have zero dogs or a really nice dog, I really encourage you to try dog sitting! Even better, some people let you stay at their house while you do that, which is super convenient!
10) Tutoring
I’ve tutored many times in the past, and I would highly recommend it as a side gig. I’ve done it on my own and as an on campus job, I’ve prepared students for language certifications, worked with elementary school students and college students. I am certain that you have something you’re really good at: so why not tutor?
In the past, I’ve tutored in French, English and Italian, mainly because that’s what I feel most comfortable teaching. However, you can pretty much tutor any school subject.
A cool way to do that is through Chegg Tutors, a website that lets you tutor online, without ever having to meet with your tutee. I’ve used it before, and it’s definitely convenient, considering that you can wait for opportunities to show up while you do homework, study or write blog posts. However, the number of opportunities is relatively low and keeping that tab open while studying can be distracting. Overall, I’d recommend finding real-life tutee and get paid by the hour.
11) On campus jobs
If you’re a college student, please look up job on your student employment page! Some of the jobs posted there require more experience, but many of them don’t and are usually very easy/random. In college, my on campus job was to tutor for French, but some of my friends were TAs, desk receptionists, clerks, assistants, bloggers, social media managers, etc. The best part about on campus jobs is that the hours are super flexible, so that you can work around your current schedule!
12) Uber/Lyft
Okay so if you don’t know this about me, I can’t drive and don’t have my license. Therefore, it would be very illegal, not to mention dangerous, for me to drive for Uber or Lyft. However, if you do have a valid license and own a car, driving people would be a great option to earn some quick cash.
Oh, the Things You Can Do Online
13) Freelance Work
Remote work is becoming increasingly popular, and there are people out there who make a decent living off of working as freelancers. However, the beauty of freelancing is that it doesn’t have to be your full time job. You can do it at any time, whenever you want, and in the amount that you desire. You’re your own boss, you manage your own time. Therefore, if you’re a news writer, graphic designer, photographer or any kind of content creator, you might want to consider freelancing as your side gig. I personally do freelance translations and love it! You can check out some of my translations on the English version of A Milano Puoi.
14) Blogging
Blogging is the best kind of freelancing. Or at least, I think so, because I love writing, and the idea of being paid to write is just so GREAT! There are plenty of options out there, because brands are in need of quality content now more than ever! Here is a list of 101 places to find freelance writing jobs, if you’re interested. If you’re more like me and would rather write about a specific topic – cough cough, travel – here are some magazines that will pay you to write about travel.
If you, instead, have your own blog, there are many ways to monetize it, and the easiest one is to collaborate with brands and write sponsored posts. That’ll allow you the freedom of writing content for your own platform, and still get paid!
Referral
15) Invite your friends on Airbnb
Well, you won’t make actual money simply inviting friends to the app, but you’ll get credit on your Airbnb account that you can use on accommodations while traveling! So you’re basically earning free money. Shameless plug: use this link to get $40 off your first Airbnb stay!
Other than inviting people, you can make bank on Airbnb by renting out a spare room. Most people don’t like having strangers in their homes, but consider it your last resort!
That is all, my friends! I really want to keep updating this list as time goes by, so if you have any genius ways to make quick money, don’t hesitate to comment below or message me, I’m always open to new ideas!
P.S.: Friendly reminder: in just four days I will be leaving on a trip to Europe! Stay tuned for updates on my time in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy! These are some of the ways I made some extra cash for my trip – other than saving up like crazy and bringing my own lunch to work (lifesaver!) – so they work! See ya soon guys!