How to Make $10,000 Fast in 2023: 21 Ways - Vital Dollar (2024)

No matter how much you plan out your financial life, unexpected things are bound to happen. Sometimes those financial emergencies are bigger and more significant than others. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to make $10,000 quickly, there are some options.

In this article, we’ll look at how to make $10k fast without relying on a job. Some of these methods allow you to make $10,000 on their own, and others may require you to combine a few of the methods to reach the $10k milestone quickly.

How to Make $10,000 Fast

These are the best and most practical options to make money quickly. Learn how to make money when needed and help secure your financial future.

1. Sell Your Car

If you own a car that’s paid off, you could sell it and make a significant chunk of money quickly. The amount you’ll be able to get for your car will depend on a few factors, like the make and model, the age of the vehicle, and the condition it’s in.

You can use an online tool like Kelley Blue Book to get an estimate of what your car is worth. Once you know how much money you could get for your car, you can start looking for buyers.

There are a few different ways to sell your car, but a private sale will often produce the best results unless you want to trade it in and use that money towards purchasing another vehicle.

Of course, selling your car isn’t always a practical option. However, many people could adjust to life without a car, and many two-car families could drop down to a single vehicle if needed. Public transportation, ridesharing, and carpooling may all be possibilities that allow you to do without your car. And with remote work becoming more common, your car may be expendable. As a result, it could be one of the best ways to earn extra cash quickly.

The best part about this option is that it allows you to make a large sum of money, depending on the car you’re selling, quickly. It’s possible you could have that $10,000 you need within a few days or less.

2. Sell Unwanted Jewelry

Jewelry is another big-ticket item that you may be able to sell if you need to make 10,000. Just like with a car, the amount of money you’ll be able to get for your jewelry will depend on various factors. The most important factor is usually the quality of the piece.

If you have high-quality pieces, such as diamond rings or gold necklaces, you could get a significant amount of money for them. However, even if you don’t have any expensive jewelry, you may still be able to sell some of your unwanted pieces for a decent price.

There are a few different ways to sell your jewelry. You could take it to a local jeweler and see if they’re interested in buying it from you. Or, you could try selling it online through sites like eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace.

The key to selling jewelry, no matter how you do it, is ensuring you get the best possible price. Don’t take the first offer that comes your way if it doesn’t match your expectations. If you’re selling online, be sure to research the going rates for similar pieces of jewelry before setting your own prices.

You could potentially make a few thousand dollars quickly by selling unwanted jewelry. Of course, jewelry often carries sentimental value, so you’ll need to consider how much it means to you to determine if you can part with it.

3. Sell Stuff You Don’t Need

We all have stuff we don’t need, want, or use. And in many cases, this stuff is just taking up space in our homes. If you want to make some quick money, selling the stuff you don’t need is possibly the easiest way.

What you can sell? Well, it depends on what you have. Of course, if you’re looking to make 10,000 dollars quickly, starting with the higher-ticket items will give you the best chance.

If you have art, collectibles, rare items, or anything worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, think about how much it means to you and decide if you can part with it. Maybe you have a closet full of designer clothes or accessories that you can do without.

There are a few different ways to sell your things. You could have a garage sale and sell everything in one shot. This is a good option for getting rid of many smaller or inexpensive items, but it’s not the best way to sell your most valuable items. Selling through eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace may help you to move higher-priced items quickly for a good price.

The advantage of selling your stuff online is that you can reach a larger audience and potentially get more money for your items. The downside is that it takes more time to list each item and ship it out once it’s sold.

If you have stuff around your house that you don’t need, selling it is a great way to get quick cash. Just be sure to research the going rates for each item before setting your prices so that you know you’re getting a good deal.

4. Start a Trash Cleanup Business

Most types of businesses require a significant upfront financial investment or countless hours of your time before you begin making significant money. But one of the most overlooked opportunities involves starting a trash cleanup business in your local area.

In the 1980s, Brian Winch started his own trash cleaning business on the side of a full-time job. Within a few short months, his business income exceeded the salary from his full-time job, and he quit the job to focus on growing his business.

For the past 30+ years, Brian has earned a six-figure income from a simple trash cleanup small business. Today, he reaches out to others who want to duplicate his success with this trash cleanup business model. He’s created Cleanlots, a manual that teaches how to build what he calls “America’s simplest business.”

The methods that Brian teaches in Cleanlots require very minimal tools and equipment, so you can start quickly without a significant financial investment. You can also find clients and start making money quickly by following Brian’s methods for outreach and prospecting.

Brian’s business model involves cleaning litter from parking lots of retail stores, office buildings, apartment complexes, and other large properties. These properties need to have trash cleaned up regularly, and property managers are often willing to hire someone to do the work for them. It doesn’t require specific skills or experience, so just about anyone can do it.

5. Rent Out Your Camper or RV

If you own a camper or RV, you can rent it out on RVshare. RVshare is a peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace, so you can list your RV or camper for rent and start earning money quickly.

The great thing about RVshare is that you can set your own rental rates and schedule. And since RV rentals are usually for a week or more, you can earn a decent income by renting out your RV or camper. In fact, according to RVshare, it’s possible to make more than $20,000 per year.

Chances are, your camper or RV is just sitting unused most of the year. Maybe you use it for a few weeks, and it sits the rest of the time. With the help of RVshare, you can turn it into an income-generating asset that puts a significant amount of extra cash in your bank account.

While there are plenty of side hustle ideas for making extra cash, the best thing about this opportunity is its relatively passive income. You’ll need to clean the camper or RV between renters, but there’s not much other work involved.

6. Rent Out Your House

If you own a house, you can rent it out on Airbnb and start making passive income quickly. Airbnb allows you to set your own rental rates and schedule. You could rent your entire house, a separate unit, or a single bedroom.

Depending on details like where you live, the size of the space, and the time when you’re renting it out, you may be able to make a significant amount of money quickly.

If major events are happening in your area, you could take advantage of the opportunity by renting when rates are at a premium. For example, if you live in New Orleans, you could rent your house or room during Mardi Gras and demand much higher rates than usual. Or if you live near a major sporting event, you could rent to people traveling into town for the event.

7. Rent Out Your Car or Truck

If you own a car or truck, you can easily earn money by renting it out on Turo. Turo is a car rental marketplace where people can rent vehicles from other people to save money rather than going to a major car rental chain.

With Turo, you can set your own rental rates and schedule. You could rent out your car for an hour, a day, or even longer. Depending on the make and model of your vehicle, you could make a significant amount of passive money quickly.

Fetch is a rental platform for trucks and cargo vans. People in your local area may be looking to rent a truck or van to move a piece of furniture or something else they can’t fit in their car. You can earn extra income simply by renting out your truck.

According to Fetch, you can make up to $1,800 per month by renting out your truck. This is a pretty nice chunk of money for something that takes very little time or effort.

8. Rent Out Storage Space

If you have extra space in your house, attic, basem*nt, garage, shed, or even storage unit, you can make money quickly when you rent it out on Neighbor. Neighbor allows people to list their extra space for rent, so others in the area can use it for storage.

You could make hundreds of dollars per month of passive income by renting out your space. And since Neighbor handles all of the marketing and payments, it’s a very easy way to make money with very little hassle.

You’re not likely to make $10,000 dollars quickly with this method alone, but you can combine it with other methods on this list to see your earnings pile up faster.

9. Freelance

By offering a service as a freelancer, you’ll be able to put your existing skills and experience to good use. It’s one of the best ways to make money quickly.

There are countless different services you could offer, depending on your specific abilities and what you can do.

Think about your job or past jobs and the skills you could use by working for clients. Freelance writing, designing, coding, and marketing are among the services that are in high demand, but there are plenty of other options as well. See my list of freelance services for some ideas.

Freelance writing services, in particular, are a very popular option because there are so many websites and blogs looking to hire writers.

If you’re ready to start, there are several ways to find your first clients. You can start by offering your services on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. Or, you can reach out to businesses and individuals directly to see if they need your services.

Sometimes cold outreach is the best option because there are virtually endless numbers of prospects, and you can tap into that by being proactive. I highly recommend the Preheating Method to anyone looking to land clients for any freelance service.

No matter what route you decide to take, remember that networking is key when it comes to finding clients as a freelancer. Be sure to let everyone know that you’re available for hire and be willing to put in the extra effort to make meaningful connections.

10. Become a Consultant

Another excellent way to leverage your existing skills, expertise, and experience is to work as a consultant. One of the best things about this opportunity is that you may earn a very high hourly rate as a consultant.

Consulting generally entails providing advice and guidance to clients on a particular topic or area of expertise. This could involve anything from business strategy to social media marketing to financial planning.

If you have in-depth knowledge and experience in a particular subject, consulting can be a great way to earn money quickly. Take some time to think about the experience you’ve gained through your job, past jobs, and any business or entrepreneurial experience you may have. See what consulting you could offer and think about the types of businesses or individuals that would benefit from your services.

You can also look for opportunities to consult with companies on job boards or freelance sites like Upwork. However, the best way to land consulting gigs is through personal connections and networking.

Reach out to your network of contacts and let them know you’re available for consulting work. You can also look for companies you’d like to consult with and reach out to them directly. The Preheating Method is also extremely effective for finding consulting clients.

11. Delivery Driving

If you have a car, truck, or van, you can sign up to drive with DoorDash or Instacart and start making money quickly. Work is readily available, and you don’t need to sell anything.

DoorDash is a food delivery service that allows you to deliver restaurant meals to customers in your local area (DoorDash is also expanding into other types of deliveries). You can sign up to be a Dasher, what they call their drivers, and start picking up orders as soon as you’re approved.

Instacart is a grocery delivery service that allows you to deliver groceries to customers in your local area. You can sign up as an Instacart shopper and make deliveries as soon as approved. With Instacart, you’ll also grocery shop for the customer, so it’s more involved than simply making the delivery.

Both DoorDash and Instacart allow you to set your own schedule, so you can work as little or as much as you want (subject to availability). And you can make a decent income with either company.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to make some quick cash, delivery driving is a great option. Just be sure to factor in the cost of gas and wear and tear on your vehicle when calculating your earnings.

12. Drive for Uber or Lyft

Driving for Uber or Lyft is another great option if you’re looking to make money quickly.

With Uber or Lyft, you can sign up to drive and pick up passengers as soon as you’re approved. Both companies allow you to set your own schedule, so you can work as little or as much as you want. And you can make a decent income with either company.

Just like delivery driving, be sure to factor in the cost of gas and wear and tear on your vehicle when calculating your earnings.

13. Buy and Resell Cars

If you’re good at fixing cars, you can buy them for a low price and resell them for a higher price. This is a great way to make money quickly if you have the right skill set.

You can find cars that need work by checking local classifieds. Once you’ve repaired the car, you can list it for sale on those same platforms, or you could sell it to a local used car dealer.

Remember that you’ll need to factor in the cost of parts and labor when determining how much profit you’ll make on each car. But if you’re good at what you do, this can be a very lucrative way to make money quickly.

It also helps to have a good knowledge of car values, so you know which cars give you the potential to earn the most money.

14. Flip Houses

If you have the money to invest, flipping houses is a great way to make a lot of money quickly in real estate. You can buy a fixer-upper for a low price and then sell it after fixing it up for a higher price.

And if you don’t have any capital to invest, you can find an investor or partner willing to put up the money while you do the work.

Flipping houses is not for everyone. It takes time, effort, and money to do it successfully. But if you’re up for the challenge, it can be a great way to earn a lot of money in a short period of time.

Of course, it’s also possible to lose money if things don’t go well. Be sure to do your own due diligence before jumping into anything, and understand the risks you’re taking. This opportunity is best for someone with experience renovating houses or with significant real estate experience.

15. Offer a Service in Your Local Area

There are many different services you could offer to make money quickly. This includes mowing lawns, cleaning houses, pressure washing, walking dogs, detailing cars, and more. These services are among the best ways to earn money without a job.

To get started, decide what service you want to offer and start marketing. You can create posts on Craigslist, advertise on local bulletin boards, distribute flyers, or even go door to door. You can also use apps like TaskRabbit and Handy.

Once you’ve found someone who needs your service, reach out and give them a quote. If they’re happy with the price, you can start working and get paid quickly.

This is a great way to make money without relying on a job.

16. Create an Online Course

Online businesses offer unlimited income potential, but most online business models require you to put in a lot of work before you start to make money. As a result, they’re more ideal for someone with a long-term focus and less ideal for someone who needs to make money quickly.

But there are some exceptions. One way to make money quickly with an online business is to create and sell a course. Online courses can be high-ticket items, with many courses selling for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

If you have expertise in a particular subject, you can create an online course and start making money quickly. Of course, creating a course takes time. However, if you need to make more money immediately, you can take pre-orders before the course has been created, or you can create the course modules as you go.

Many online courses are drip-fed to students, with new modules being released weekly, or at some other interval. As long as you can create the content before it needs to be released, you don’t need to have the entire course created before you can sell access to it.

Thanks to platforms like Teachable and Podia, creating and selling online courses is now easier than ever. The platforms handle all of the payments, and you can easily create a professional website to host your course. Students will have a dashboard where they can log in to access course material.

One of the ways you can make money online quickly with your course is by creating an affiliate program (both Teachable and Podia include this functionality). People with an audience, like website owners, bloggers, social media influencers, Facebook Group owners, and anyone with an email list, can promote your course in exchange for a commission on each sale they refer.

Online course affiliate programs usually offer anywhere from 20-50% of the revenue to affiliates. With the right affiliates promoting your course, you can make 10,000 dollars quickly.

17. Create a Digital Product

Of course, there are plenty of other digital products, aside from online courses, that you could create and sell to make money online. The concept is the same. As soon as you have a product ready to sell, you can get it in front of the right audience and begin making money.

Ebooks, software, plugins, audio files, and other digital files can be sold online (see my list of digital products to sell for ideas). Once the product is created, you’ll need to set up a sales page and promote it. You can use platforms like Podia or SendOwl to sell your products.

Your product might continue to generate sales and passive income for months or years to come.

If you don’t have an existing audience, you could promote your digital product through an affiliate program, selling on marketplaces like Etsy or Creative Market, or using paid advertising to draw traffic.

18. Affiliate Marketing

I mentioned affiliate marketing to promote your course or digital product. Another possibility is to be the affiliate that promotes someone else’s product through your affiliate link. As an affiliate, you’ll earn a commission for each sale you refer.

If you want to make 10,000 quickly, the best option is to focus on high-ticket items that allow you to earn hundreds or thousands of dollars for each successful referral.

For example, you could sign up as an affiliate for a course that sells for $5,000 and offers a 50% commission. If you refer just four people who buy the course, you’ll make 10,000.

Of course, it’s not always that easy to get people to buy something. This option is best if you have an existing audience, for example, if you have a blog, email list, or social media following. It’s also ideal for people with experience managing ad campaigns or buying traffic. Overall, affiliate marketing is a very popular way to make money online.

19. Flea Market Flipping

If you have an eye for good deals and know how to negotiate, you could make a killing flipping items at flea markets or yard sales. To be successful, you’ll need to find items that are selling below their true value and purchase them to sell them for a profit.

You’ll need to know the true value of certain items or know how much they can be worth once it’s been fixed or improved. You can see my list of the easiest things to flip for profit to get some ideas.

Flipping is an excellent way to make extra cash, but if you’re looking to earn a significant amount quickly, it’s best to focus on items that have the potential to be resold for high dollar amounts.

This includes appliances (that may require some repairs), commercial equipment (like freezers, for example), motor vehicles or ATVs, and anything else that could have a high value for the right buyer.

Once you’ve purchased your items, it’s time to list them for sale online. Facebook Marketplace is a great option, as is eBay or Craigslist. If you have commercial equipment to sell, you can also reach out to businesses in your area that may need that specific equipment.

20. Sell an Idea

If you have a great idea for a product or service, you could earn a lot of money by selling it. Of course, this option isn’t easy and will require some effort. But, if you’re successful, it could be very lucrative. And perhaps you already have an idea that’s worth money.

The first step is to develop an idea that people would be willing to pay for. This could be anything from a new app to a piece of jewelry to an innovative new product. Once you have your idea, you’ll need to create a prototype (if it’s a physical product) or put together a detailed plan (if it’s a service).

Once you have your prototype or business plan ready, it’s time to start pitching your idea to potential investors. This could be done through online platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, or by reaching out to individual investors. If you’re successful, you could earn a lot more money quickly.

You can also see my list of companies that pay for invention ideas. In this case, instead of creating and selling the actual product, you’d sell the idea to a business so they could create and own the product.

21. Become a Surrogate

Women willing and able to help someone have a baby could earn a lot of money as a surrogate. This option is not for everyone, but if you’re healthy and have no health concerns that would make pregnancy difficult, it could be a good way to make some quick cash.

The average surrogacy arrangement results in the surrogate earning between $20,000 and $50,000. But, depending on the situation, you could earn more or less than this.

Before becoming a surrogate, you should research and make sure you understand the risks involved. You’ll also need to find an agency or lawyer who can help you navigate the process and ensure that everything is done legally. Once you’ve found an agency or lawyer, they will help match you with prospective parents.

Final Thoughts on How to Make $10,000 Fast

Whether you’re looking to pay off credit card debt, cover unexpected home repairs, build up a savings account, or pay for family emergencies, there are times when we all need money. Thankfully, there are several ways to make $10,000 fast without relying on a traditional job or emergency fund.

While some of these options may require more effort than others, they all have the potential to be lucrative. So, if you’re looking for ways to make some extra money, consider one of the options listed above.