How many renters out there need help paying rent? More than you’d expect. Housing is the most significant monthly expense most of us have, and rents continue to climb. Rent is also the most dangerous expense to get behind on. Not only is it hard to get caught up if you fall behind, but fall too far behind, and you face the real prospect of finding yourself with no place to live.

Many Americans Need Help Paying Rent

American homes sales are going down thanks to high costs and we’ve all read articles about Millenials priced out of the housing market. But you have to live somewhere, so renting it is. Only renting, at least without a roommate or two, is becoming a struggle as well.

Ideally, rent should not exceed 30% of income but that is becoming increasingly unrealistic for many renters. And when homeownership is out of the question for so many people, competition for rentals is fierce.

Landlords can not only name their price, but they can also require applicants to meet an almost impossible standard in order to secure a place to live. In large, ultra-competitive cities like New York, some landlords require a renter earn 40 times the monthly rent.

With all these factors in play, it’s not surprising that people sometimes need help paying rent.

How To Get Help Paying Rent Fast

If you find yourself in the position where you need help paying rent fast, we have 24 ways to make your rent money fast.

Use Your Spare Time To Help Pay Rent

When you need help paying rent, you shouldn’t have any spare time, every minute you’re not working or sleeping, you should be doing something to earn money. That’s what these sites allow you to do, earn some extra money in your spare time.

Survey Junkie: We all have opinions, and Survey Junkie will pay you for those opinions. It’s a survey company that provides consumer data to market research companies. You earn points by answering surveys on a variety of topics.

One point is equivalent to one penny, and most surveys reward users with 100-200 points and take five to twenty minutes to finish. Those points can be exchanged for cash. The minimum to cash out is $10 and will be paid to your PayPal account.

InBoxDollars ($5 bonus): If you want more ways to earn than just surveys, InBoxDollars has several options for you. There are surveys but you can also earn by shopping through the portal, watching videos, reading emails, playing games and referring friends who become members.

Another advantage of InBoxDollars is the lack of a points system. You earn money and you can see how much the various tasks are worth. You need a minimum of $30 to cash out and you’ll be paid via mailed check, ePayments, or a prepaid Visa debit card.

Pinecone Research: You know what you’re getting when you answer surveys at Pinecone Research. Nearly all of the surveys pay a flat fee of $3 and take just 10 to 15 minutes to finish. You also don’t have to keep logging into the site to check for new surveys, they’ll be emailed directly to you.

There is no minimum to cash out and you’ll be paid fast, within 48 hours of requesting payment. It will arrive via check, PayPal or prepaid Visa card. There is a catch though. You can only join via an invitation which you can get through an existing member or if you find a banner ad on another site so keep your eyes peeled.

Opinion Square: When you join Opinion Square, you’ll receive 3 or 4 surveys each month. The surveys are targeted to your specific interests based on your web searches. When you join, you’ll install tracking software that provides information on your demographic and interests so you’ll only receive surveys for things you’ll actually have an opinion about.

For each completed survey, you’ll earn points that can be exchanged for nearly 25,000 different items and gift cards. There is no cash option.

i-Say: This is purely a survey site so if you like to give your opinion but can’t be bothered playing games or watching videos, i-Say is the site for you. Each survey is worth 45-90 points and each point is worth $0.01. Most surveys pay between $0.45 and $2.

Points can be redeemed for gift cards from retailers like Starbucks, Amazon, and Target or for cash via PayPal.

Harris Poll Online: Harris Poll is one of the oldest market research companies around, so you’ve likely heard of them. This is a survey site that rewards users for completing surveys with points.

Surveys are sent directly to users, and you’ll get three to five surveys each month. Most can be completed in five to twenty-five minutes. You can’t see how many points a survey is worth until you’ve completed it.

The cash out threshold is 1,250 points which are equivalent to $10. Harris Poll Online does not offer a cash payout option but gift cards instead. But again, you can sell those gift cards for cash with Cardpool.

MyPoints ($10 bonus): MyPoints is a rewards site with a lot of ways to earn points that you can turn into cash. You can earn cash back when you shop online with participating retailers, read emails, watch videos, take surveys, and refer friends who become users.

Points can be redeemed for cash via PayPal, which is perfect for when you need help paying rent fast; the minimum threshold is $25 which requires about 4,000 points.

Swagbucks ($5 bonus): Swagbucks is another rewards site and perhaps has the most ways to earn of all these kinds of sites. You can earn points shopping online, doing web searches, playing games, and watching videos. There is another neat component called Swagbucks Local. It gives you cash back for shopping in person at area stores and eating in local restaurants, great for those who aren’t big online shoppers.

Each point is worth one penny, so the math is easy to do, 100 Swagbucks points equals $1. Points can be redeemed for cash and deposited into your PayPal account. You can cash out points in the denomination of $25, $50, $100, and $250.

Stella & Dot: Do you love fashion? Are your friends and family always coming to you for style advice? If you answered yes, you’d love Stella & Dot. If you remember your mom or grandmother having Home Interiors or Tupperware parties, it’s similar to that, but you’ll be selling fashion accessories. And you can sell in-person and online, giving you more flexibility.

Stella & Dot stylists earn 25-35% of their sales and commission when people you refer become stylists themselves. The company also offers bonuses and special incentives.

Help Paying Rent With Your Stuff

Your apartment is probably full of stuff! Let’s make some money with it.

Airbnb Host: If you don’t live in what could be considered a tourist destination you might think listing out your place or a room in your place isn’t an option for you, but you’d be mistaken.

Do you live in a college town? You can list your place for families doing a college visit, parents in town for parent’s weekends, families coming in for graduation and fans attending a basketball or football game. If there is a big entertainment venue near you, you can list your place out when there is a concert in town. You get the point. It’s not just people in big cities or beach towns making money on Airbnb.

And Airbnb is one of the best ways for someone who needs help paying rent to make some money. Average annual earnings of Airbnb hosts in some U.S. cities exceed $10,000 a year.

You can list your entire apartment (and crash with a friend) or your spare bedroom. You also get to set the price. If you’re not sure what to charge, look on the site for similar listings in your area and use that as a template.

Create a listing by describing your space, the amenities it offers and nearby attractions and how many it sleeps, and uploading photos.

Guests book online, and you are paid the same day they arrive. Airbnb takes a 3% cut, but the rest is yours. If your home is entered with a key, you’ll need to greet your guests to hand it over. A more convenient option is to install a coded keyless entry pad (if your landlord permits it) and just provide the guest the code. Check out our ultimate guide to listing your space on Airbnb.

List your space to help pay the rent.

Gazelle: If you have old electronics, cell phones, tablets, desktop and laptop computers cluttering up your house, good for you. You shouldn’t toss those things into the garbage because some of them contain toxic substances that can leak into the soil and groundwater when they end up in a landfill.

But you don’t want them hanging around your place taking up space, and you need help paying rent fast. Gazelle can help solve all three of these problems. The buy used electronics, even non-working items.

Enter the details of the items you want to sell and answer a few questions about them. Gazelle will make you an offer. If you accept it, you’ll choose how you want to be paid, via PayPal or paper check that is sent within ten days of your items being received and accepted.

Choose how to send your item, FedEx or USPS, and you can print a free shipping label.

But if you need money right now, there is another way to sell your items to Gazelle. The company has kiosks called ecoATMs all around the U.S. At the kiosks you can sell a variety of cell phones, tablets, and MP3 Players.

Put your device into the test station at the kiosk. Once examined, you’ll receive an offer based on the model and condition of your device. If you choose to accept the offer, you get paid on the spot. The entire process takes only a few minutes.

Cardpool: Check through your junk drawer. Everyone has one, and lots of us have at least one gift card tucked in there somewhere. Maybe it’s for a store or restaurant you don’t frequent, or perhaps you just forgot about it. Whatever the reason, you need money and Cardpool lets you turn those gift cards into cash.

Cardpool buys your unwanted gift cards for up to 92% of their value, and the rate depends on the brand of the card. The more popular, the more money the card will be worth. Once the value of the card has been confirmed, Cardpool will give you an offer that you can accept or decline.

Cardpool buys gift cards from dozens of retailers and restaurants, physical cards, e-cards, and store credits too. They even buy cards with particular balances as long as the amount remaining is between $25-1,000 so if you used a portion of the card, you can sell the balance.

If your card is a physical gift card, you can print a free shipping label to send it to Cardpool. Once your card is verified, you will be sent a paper check in five to ten business days. Now that’s an easy way to get help paying rent fast!

If you need money fast, Cardpool has a couple of options. They work with places like grocery and cash checking stores where you can get cash on the spot for your cards. Some areas also have mall kiosks and Coin Star machines that accept gift cards for immediate payment.

Help Paying Rent With Things You Do Anyway

One of the best ways to make money is to get paid for things you already do. That’s what these Apps do.

Paribus: Don’t you hate it when you buy something and a week later see that it’s gone on sale? Paribus hates that too so they’ll get you the difference between the price you paid and the sale price.

If you made the purchase on a credit card with purchase protection, you might be able to redeem the price difference, but the process can be ponderous. And stores will often honor price-matching but again, you have to do the work. Paribus does the work for you.

Paribus also works with Amazon and Walmart to compensate shoppers for late deliveries.

When you sign up with Paribus, they scan your email for electronic receipts emailed to you when you make an online purchase from dozens of retailers. They monitor those retailers for price drops. When they spot one that matches a purchase you’ve made within the allowed time frame for a rebate, Paribus handles the logistics of filing for the rebate.

As soon as the refund is processed, the money is transferred to your linked bank account. Previously, Paribus charged users 25% of whatever refund they received but that has changed, and now the service is 100% free to use! It’s one of the easiest ways to get cash during times when you need help paying rent.

Paribus compensates us when you sign up for Paribus using the links provided.

Shopkick: Shopkick is a cash back receipt scanning App, but there are several other ways to earn points called Kicks which can be redeemed for cash. This is a new feature, previously Kicks could only be redeemed for gift cards, but now users have the option to cash out via PayPal.

After joining Shopkick, users can earn points when they purchase eligible items and upload the receipt. Making purchases through the online shopping portal, simply entering participating stores and scanning the barcodes on designated items.

Uploading receipts is the most lucrative activity, worth from 100-500 Kicks. Walking into a store will generally earn you 25, barcode scans, 15-50, and referring friends who opt to participate, is worth 250. 250 Kicks are equivalent to $1.

Drop: Drop is a cash back App that doesn’t require you to shop online to earn points. To earn points, link your debit and credit cards and choose five participating retailers with whom you want to earn points.

Choose carefully, once your five are chosen, you can’t change them so choose the five you spend the most money with. Choices include Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Costco, Starbucks, and Uber.

Each retailer determines how many points to reward for each dollar you spend. Each point is worth 1/10th of a cent, so 1,000 points are $1. A minimum of 5,000 points is required to cash out, and payments are made in the form of gift cards.

Cash is ideal when you need help paying rent, though. Remember Cardpool, the site that lets you sell your gift cards for money? You can sell the gift cards you earn from Drop there! Check out our full review on Drop.

Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel: You’ve probably heard of Nielsen. The company measures TV viewing habits. They also measure internet habits and you can earn rewards for sharing that information.

All you do is answer the registration questions, install the App on your registered devices and use the internet as you normally do. The App doesn’t interfere with your computer or mobile devices.

You’ll be entered into monthly sweepstakes and earn points that you can exchange for gift cards.

Help Paying Rent With Your Car

For some of these methods, a car is not required. A scooter, motorcycle, bike, and even walking are permitted.

Lyft Driver: The average median earnings of a Lyft driver is $29.47 an hour, and you don’t even have to own a car to drive for the company. They have a program called Lyft Express Drive that allows drivers to rent cars to drive. There is no lag time between earning money and getting paid; drivers can get paid weekly through direct deposit or cash out immediately with Express Pay.

There are some requirements to drive with Lyft:

• Be at least 21 years old
• Pass our free, online DMV and background checks
• Have at least four doors, not including jump doors
• Have a US driver’s license for at least one year
• Provide proof of insurance and (in most cities) a car inspection

Most cities have local requirements, too.

To sweeten the deal, Lyft is offering our readers a $1,000 30-day guarantee for new drivers!

Driving With Uber:  For those of us who need help paying rent fast, Uber offers an opportunity to make a good amount of cash. Uber driver-partners can cash out up to five times a day with Instant Pay so no waiting when you need cash fast. You can register for Instant Pay with your debit card.

There are some requirements to drive with Uber:

• Be at least 21 years old
• Have one year of driving experience (three years if you’re under 23)
• Complete a background screening
• Provide proof of residency in your city, state, or province
• Vehicle insurance if you plan to drive your own car

Sign up to drive with Uber.

Uber Eats Delivery-Partner: If you don’t like the idea of having strangers in your car, you can still earn extra money for paying rent by delivering with Uber Eats. Uber Eats is a food delivery request app. Rather than employ dedicated delivery people, restaurants can partner with Uber Eats to get their food delivered.

You may not even need to own or rent a car. If you have a scooter or bike, you can deliver for Uber Eats in some cities. Delivery-partners can cash out up to five times a day with Instant Pay when registered with a debit card. Terms apply.

These are the requirements to deliver with Uber Eats.

For cars:

• Have a 2-door or 4-door car made after 1998
• Have a valid driver’s license, registration, and vehicle insurance
• Have at least one (1) year of driving experience

For scooters:

• Use any make or model 2-wheel scooter
• Must have a motor of 50cc or less that travels no faster than 30 mph

For bikes:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have a government-issued ID

Sign up to deliver with Uber Eats.

DoorDash: This service is similar to Uber Eats, in that you deliver restaurant orders and other items from local merchants, like grocery stores, to hungry customers in your area.

You also don’t need a car; you can use a scooter, motorcycle, bike, or your own two feet. Once you’ve completed 25 deliveries with Doordash and have been active for two weeks, you can cash out daily via Fast Pay. This is an extremely convenient way to get help paying rent fast.

These are the requirements to become a Dasher:

• Drivers must be 18 or older
• Drivers cannot have any major violations in the last seven years, including DUI, Reckless Driving, Homicide or Assault,
• Drivers cannot have more than three incidents* in the last three years
• Pass a criminal background check

PostMates: As you can see, there are plenty of companies who have restaurant deliveries covered but what about people who want, well, just about anything else delivered? Postmates has them covered.

PostMates drivers deliver all kinds of things, office supplies, groceries, even alcohol. And you don’t need a car to work for PostMates; you can use a scooter, motorcycle, bike, or just make deliveries on foot.

You’re paid once a week or can choose to cash out daily, which can be the best option for those of us who need help paying rent fast.

These are the requirements to deliver with PostMates, and they’re the least restrictive of the delivery services:

• An applicant is 18 years or older with a smartphone and a valid driver’s license
• Have a vehicle, scooter, motorcycle, or bicycle
• Insurance card with a name on the policy
• Pass the background and driving record check, plus an orientation interview (online or in-person)

Sign up to deliver with Postmates.

Instacart Shopper: Are you one of those people who enjoy food shopping? I am, and it’s one of my favorite pass times. If you’re like me, you can get paid for your slightly odd hobby with Instacart!

You will shop for and deliver groceries to Instacart users. There are two types of jobs available; full-service shopper both shop for and deliver the grocery orders, in-store shoppers only shop for the groceries, and someone else delivers them so if you don’t have a car, you can still make money with Instacart.  Choosing either Instacart shopper option, you can certainly get help paying rent fast.

These are the requirements to become an Instacart Shopper:

• At least 18 years old, 21 if you want to deliver alcohol
• Be able to lift 40 pounds or more
• Have a smartphone, an iPhone 4s, Android 4.0 or newer
• Pass a background check

Both full service and in-store shoppers are paid weekly via direct deposit.

Become an Instacart Shopper.

Getaround: How many hours a day do you use your car, two, maybe three? The rest of the time, it’s just sitting there. Why not put your car to work for you? That’s what Getaround does. You can rent your car out just like Hertz or Enterprise. Some Getaround users have made over $30,000 renting out their car.

You can earn $1,000s a year with Getaround and owners are paid monthly. For those of us who need help paying rent, that’s a substantial chunk of funds.

These are the requirements to rent your car:

• Be 2008 or newer
• Have less than 125,000 miles
• Seat no more than eight passengers, and be a private passenger vehicle with at least four wheels

Owners get to decide when and for how long to rent their car and where the car will be picked up and dropped off. Getaround handles taking and uploading the photos of our car and install Getaround Connect, a tool that lets renters find, rent, and unlock your car from their phone meaning you don’t have to meet for the pickup or drop off.

Getaround is currently available in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Washington DC, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston, New York City, Miami and San Diego!

Start making extra cash with your car using Getaround.

Pro Tip: Sign up and list your car on Turo as well as Getaround to maximize earnings and see which rents out your car for more money.

It Can Happen To Anyone

Nearly 80% of Americans report living paycheck to paycheck, so if you need help paying rent, you are certainly not alone. While we provided these suggestions as ways to make your rent money fast, they are also ways you can increase your income and start building an emergency fund.

Everyone needs income coming in from more than one source, referred to as a side hustle. This list has something that will fit everyone’s skills and everyone’s schedule. That’s something the internet has made possible.

In the past, if you wanted to make some extra money on the side to help pay rent, you were largely beholden to someone else’s schedule because side hustles consisted of things like working retail, waiting tables, tending bar, and babysitting.

If you worked a traditional 9-5, it could be hard to find a second job that would work around your regular work schedule. But side hustles are much more flexible now, allowing everyone to find the perfect fit.

And you never can tell. You might enjoy a side hustle so much and make more money than you do at your current job that you decide to make your hustle full time.

Keep your chin up and keep hustling.