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Looking for ways on how to make $400 dollars fast?
There are tons of ways to raise some quick cash!
Whether you have a financial crisis hit you, like unexpected travel expenses or a medical bill, or you’re trying to participate in group vacation with your friends in the next few months, or other reasons, we have got 25 ways to help you increase your cashflow fast!
Making extra money can truly be life-changing.
This is what extra money can do for you:
- Help you grow your nest egg and gain peace of mind for being financially prepared for retirement
- Save money and pay off debt fast
- Accelerate your pace to reach financial freedom
- Stop living paycheck to paycheck
- Help you retire early
- And, more!
Making money doesn’t have to be hard, either.
If you are willing to put in the work, in just a few hours per week, you could reach your goal of making $400 dollars fast!
No matter what your skills are, we’ve got something for you.
Make sure to bookmark this post so you can revisit it later.
Table of Contents
25 ways on how to make $400 dollars fast
Now you don’t have to panic if you fall into a scenario where you need to raise some quick cash fast.
Here we go!
We’ve split up these 25 side hustles into 7 categories:
- Online side hustles
- In-person hustles
- Freelance gigs
- Real estate ventures
- Delivery driver jobs
- Online teaching
- Social networking/social media
Dive in!
Online Side Hustles
This first category consists of 6 online side hustles that you can do quickly and easily, with only a computer (or device like smartphone, tablet, etc.) and an internet connection.
These hustles are great if you want to do some work in your spare time, flexibly, only connected to the internet.
Take a look.
1. Survey-Taking
You can check out this list of surveys to take that can help you make up to $600/month (or more) taking surveys.
Taking surveys is super easy and really fast.
You are getting paid to share your honest opinion.
Survey companies are market research companies connecting you, the survey taker to companies that are looking to survey the general public so they can make their products, services, and company better.
You will answer a variety of questions about your lifestyle along with companies, products, and services you use or spend your money on.
Here are 6 of our favorite survey companies to check out:
Pro Tip: To make the most money with survey taking, join multiple survey companies.
Joining multiple survey companies just amplifies your earnings even more.
Keep in mind, you cannot earn a full-time income from taking surveys.
It truly is side hustle money that you can use to increase your cash flow quickly.
2. Micro Tasks
You can join a micro task company, like Mechanical Turk, and get paid to complete small tasks.
These tasks can vary but can include things like:
- Visiting a grocery store and taking a picture of an aisle in the store
- Putting data into a spreadsheet
- Transcribing an audio file into text
Here are 5 micro task companies that you can check out to learn more:
3. Start a Dropshipping store
Dropshipping is an ecommerce model that allows you to sell stuff in an online store without holding any inventory.
This is huge because inventory is arguably one of the most expensive startup costs when launching a retail store.
How Dropshipping Works?
You are the middleman.
The customer orders something from your online store.
You then order that item from your supplier and have your supplier ship directly to the customer.
You keep the difference between the supplier wholesale cost and the retail price, as your profit!
For example, if you sell cookie jars online and a customer buys 3 cookie jars for a total $50, you then order 3 cookie jars from your cookie jar dropshipping supplier for a total of $20, and the supplier ships the order to the customer for you.
Your profit: $30 ($50 retail cost – $20 wholesale cost)
Dropshipping is great for making money fast because it’s an easy business model to get going quickly and you can be on your way to earning an extra $400 in no time.
The last dropshipping store I operated got up to around $1,000 in the first 10 days, with little effort.
While your results may not be the same, if you’re curious about ecommerce, give dropshipping a try, to make some extra money on the side.
4. Transcription
As a transcriptionist you will get paid to type what you hear.
You’ll be transcribing audio files, making up to $25/hour or more.
If you’re not working for a transcription company, your ideal client may be:
- Attorneys
- Teachers
- Podcasters
- Small businesses
How it works?
You’ll be given an audio file.
You listen to the file and type what you hear.
That’s it!
There is a little more to it than that, as you’ll need to follow a style guide which will tell you how to structure the transcript, etc.
You can find transcriptionist jobs at companies like: Rev or TranscribeMe, among other places.
5. Online Panels
As an online panelist, you will be paid for your time and your honest opinion.
This is like participating a longer type of survey.
With survey taking, you’ll spend a few minutes, up to 30 minutes for some longer surveys, answering questions.
Online panels are the same except, they are more in depth.
First, they’re longer.
You’ll likely spend 40 to 90 minutes on a single panel, sometimes as long as 60 minutes 5 days a week, for 3-4 weeks.
Next, they’ll require more effort and participation.
Panels online may involve peer interviews, screen share webcast sessions, etc.
So, for more work, more time and effort, will you get paid more than a survey?
Yes!
Online panels can pay $40 to $400+ each!
My experience with online panels
I’ve completed 3 panels in my life, from these companies:
- Private panel (can’t share origin)
- Respondent
- User Interviews
The private panel was an opportunity that I learned about through email.
I get these offers from time to time.
Because I’ve participated in many survey sites and agreed to have them and their subsidiaries contact me, I’ve been put on a list of people interested in taking surveys, so I get some cool opportunities sent to my inbox periodically.
A recent one came from my bank, who offered me $80 to share some information about my experience there.
If you are a regular survey taker, you may get opportunities like this in your email.
Online Panels with Respondent
The second panel was through Respondent.
You signup to Respondent for free, then you can review their list of panels and apply for the ones you’re interested in.
The lowest paying offer I have seen has been $40 and the highest paying offer has been $350.
The last panel company was User Interviews and they’re pretty similar to Respondent.
Online Panels with User Interviews
First, signup for free, then browse their panel offers.
With both, if you’re a match as a panelist you’ll be contacted that you’ve been selected.
Then, you can pick a time to do your panel, from a calendar.
Once you complete your panel, payment comes within 5-10 days but with both opportunities I got my payment within about 45 minutes of completing the payment.
The private panel paid $400 in the form of a Visa gift card.
The second and third panels were for $100 and $125 through Amazon gift card and PayPal cash.
Panels are a great use of your time, to share your opinion and make money.
You may be able to snag 1-2 panels per month, helping you make up to $400 or more in extra money.
6. Virtual Assistant
You can earn some good money working from home a handful of hours per week becoming a virtual assistant (up to $50 per hour)!
Virtual assistants should possess:
- Strong administrative skills
- Be detail oriented
- Well-organized
- Entry level tech skills (like knowing how to post to social media and write emails)
There are different types of virtual assistants and they’re very useful to businesses, busy professionals and regular people.
For businesses, VA’s can be helpful by getting a company organized, scheduling events, responding to client emails, and related tasks.
Busy professionals can enlist VA’s to help with time management, calendar management, task follow up, etc.
And then regular people like busy moms use VA’s to keep their household organized, like for help with planning their child’s birthday party, scheduling family doctor’s appointments, planning family vacations and more.
Gina created a successful virtual assistant business for herself and grew her income to $4,000/month in just 6 months!
Land just one client and make $400+ per month in extra cash.
In-Person Hustles That Keep You Busy
These next 3 in-person hustles do not require internet.
You’ll be active and working in the outdoors.
This is great if you love being hands on and don’t want to be chained to a computer to work for extra money.
Enjoy.
7. Dog Walking
For animal lovers, dog walking can make you an extra $400 to $800/month or more, in your spare time.
Make money while being active and walking dogs.
You can create your own dog walking company, setting your own rates, being in charge of the whole process from finding clients to marketing your business and more.
This is great if you want to create your own business and explore entrepreneurship.
The only caveat?
It can be a slow process to get your business up and running, along with startup costs and it’s not unusual for businesses to take 1+ years to become profitable.
That’s why we recommend this second option, for making $400 fast, which is working for a dog walking company.
The two you should check out are Rover and Wag!
Rover is for pet sitting and dog walking.
Their site shares you can make up to $1,000/month working with them.
- Set your own schedule
- Offer a combination of pet services
- Set preferences, like pet size, age, etc.
- 24/7 support
- And, more perks!
Click here to learn more about working with Rover.
Wag is all about dog walking.
Wag says you can be your own boss, get active, work whenever it fits your schedule and make money doing it!
There’s a 3-step application process:
- Share your prior dog experience
- Do a collar and harness test
- Complete a situational assessment
The requirements?
Be at least 18 years old, physically able to walk at least 20 minutes, and legally allowed to work in the U.S.
Learn more about becoming a dog walker with Wag here.
8. Wash Cars
Get paid to wash your neighbors cars.
This can include washing, detail, tire cleaning, waxing, etc.
This is a clever way to make extra money on the weekends.
You could go door to door asking to wash your neighbors cars, or post a flyer on the community bulletin board, and create your own business.
It would only take 20 cars at $20 each to make $400/month.
Splitting that up throughout the month means you’d only have to wash/detail 5 cars every weekend.
9. Do Landscaping
Landscaping is about maintaining lawns, gardens, and other greenery like bushes, trees, etc.
You could keep it simple and do lawn mowing for your neighbors.
This is a task many people would be happy to outsource and it’s a lot cheaper to hire you than going with a big landscaping company.
Get out there and network to find your first clients.
You could go door to door, talk to neighbors, spread the word at church or other community gatherings and events, to really grow your client base.
And, if you invest to get a professional sticker you can place on the side of your vehicle, you’d be surprised how many leads you can get from that alone!
When I moved to a new area a few years ago, I knew I wanted landscaping.
I went online and found dozens of landscaping companies.
I checked out the reviews, looked over the websites, and did more research.
I was stuck and had no idea which company to pick.
Then I walked outside and a neighbor of mine was getting their lawn mowed by a landscaper.
I put the phone number that was displayed on the landscapers truck right into my phone and scheduled my first mow.
Easy!
There are also businesses that drop their business card or flyer at the doorstep of homeowners and get tons of business that way.
At $20/mow twice a month, you could land 10 clients and meet your $400 goal in the first month!
Freelance Gigs
Freelancing is an opportunity to work as an independent contractor for a client performing service work.
Lots of people take the work they do in their 9 to 5 job and translate it to a side hustle doing those same tasks in a freelance capacity.
For example, if you work as a computer programmer by day, you could take those skills to do computer programming freelance projects on the side, working those freelance jobs during nights and weekends.
This is one of the easiest ways to make extra money fast, because you don’t have to learn new skills, teach yourself how to use new equipment, etc.
You’re just doing the same work you already do, but working for others, on the side.
Here are 4 examples of freelance gigs you could work to make $400 dollars in extra cash fast.
10. Graphic Design
As a graphic designer, your job involves creating designs for clients, like:
- Book covers
- Business card designs
- Social media graphics
- And, more!
Lots of small businesses are seeking designers to help them with a variety of projects like designing a sale flyer, curating the look of their website homepage, etc.
Find graphic design jobs and other freelance opportunities in places like these:
Craigslist gets a bad reputation sometimes but you can find real, legitimate jobs there.
You just have to have a close eye and vet a company or client well before work begins.
Upwork is a freelance market where clients and freelancers come together to work on projects.
A client will post their job, along with requirements, job specs, and more.
Then, freelancers can bid on the project including budget, timeline, etc.
The client can choose to interview freelancers that bid for the project and hire one or more freelancers, based on the project.
Other marketplaces like Freelancer, Guru, and Remote work similarly, while some are only career banks for freelance gigs, where you apply to a job, like a traditional job bank like Indeed or Careerbuilder.
Social media is an untapped gem to find freelance jobs.
I’ve found tons of freelance projects to work on through Facebook alone.
So, don’t miss out on checking out social communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, and others.
11. Copywriting
Many times you can make a lot more copywriting on a freelance basis than if you worked for a publishing company, magazine, or other business that worked with writers.
If you have a love for writing and enjoy connecting with an audience, consider doing copywriting work on the side to raise money.
Here are some examples of writing jobs you can do:
- Blog posts
- Magazine articles
- Website copy
- Ecommerce store product descriptions
- White papers
- Sales pages
- And, much more!
12. Video Editing
Producing videos allows you to let your creative juices flow.
You can think about the video concept, map out the strategy for filming, interviews, etc.
Then, when it comes to the editing, that can be another story altogether.
It takes real skill to be a strong video editor.
That’s why many professionals outsource it to freelance video editors.
If you know how to edit videos, you will be in high demand.
Put those skills to work and do freelance video editor work on the side to grow your income.
13. Web Design
Have the skills to design gorgeous-looking websites?
Whether you do this in your day job or you taught yourself how to do this on the side working on your own projects, web design is a great freelance business to help you earn $400 fast!
Web designers can charge $40 to $100 per hour and commonly you see designers charge per project, up to $10,000 each!
This is a lucrative field that’s in demand and can help you develop a nice stream of side income.
If you’re interested in learning more about this, check out this roadmap to becoming a professional freelance web designer.
Real Estate
Start a real estate side hustle.
You can even do this if you don’t own property.
Keep reading to find out how!
14. AirBNB Rentals
I just saw a documentary on this booming industry.
It’s growing by leaps and bounds and you get in on it!
There are communities popping up on Facebook (in Facebook groups) and other places online to support AirBNB hosts, which means you’ll have a network of other hosts to turn to for questions, advice, and support.
How does AirBNB renting work?
You rent out your owned property.
You can rent out a room or the entire place.
Renting out the room could be like renting out a bedroom or renting the garage.
Then, there’s renting out the entire place which means you’ll give the guest access to the entire property.
There is a lot of money to be had doing this and there are millionaires being created year after year, just from AirBNB rentals.
Here’s an example:
You live in a house in New Orleans, Louisiana and rent out the entire home on the weekends only, while you crash with your sibling until Monday.
Your mortgage payment is $1,000/month and in your area you can fetch $200/night on weekends for renting out your place.
If you rented out 4 weekends/month (Friday through Sunday), that would earn you $2,400/month in revenue.
Your profit would be: $2,400 revenue – $1,000 mortgage payment = $1,400/month profit!
That’s making $1,400/month profit on your place.
Incredible, right?
Now, think about if you owned 3 homes doing that.
The same scenario would earn you 3X the amount, or $5,200/month and that doesn’t even consider that the other 2 homes that you aren’t living in, you could also rent out during the week, for even more income potential!
Click here to head over to AirBNB to learn more about getting started with hosting.
15. AirBNB Rental Arbitrage
Next is AirBNB rental arbitrage!
This is almost exactly like the scenario described above, under AirBNB rentals but instead of owning the home, you’re renting it.
Yes, you can do this!
And, AirBNB supports it!
The one thing is, you need to make sure that the landlord of the property is on board with you renting out the space.
Some landlords don’t care, others do.
The best thing to do is just to be up front with the owner, letting them know about your intentions to rent out the space.
Though a lot of AirBNB hosts go undercover with this and just try to fly below the radar, it is really best to be completely honest.
This AirBNB party house in Miami was just fined $1,000,000 due to illegal Miami rentals.
16. Real Estate Crowdsourcing
With Fundrise you can start growing your real estate empire through crowdsourced commercial real estate investing.
The average investor can participate for as little as $500 and this passive income stream could help you make $400/month or more.
- Diverisfy your portfolio
- 8.7% to 12.4% historical annual returns
- Low-free approach
- Plus, other awesome perks
Read more about Fundrise to see how you can get in on real estate crowdsourcing.
Delivery Drivers
Earn up to four figures per month delivering driving!
Deliver food and goods to consumers and get paid to drive your car.
This is a great side hustle because no skills are required.
You just need to be a licensed driver, meet the age and vehicle requirements and you’re good to go!
17. Instacart
Instacart is all about delivering groceries.
They also have an in-store shopper position available where you’re paid to do grocery shopping.
The driver job means you will pickup grocery store orders and deliver them to customers.
One of the unexpected side effects of being a driver for Instacart is losing weight.
First off, you may not realize it, but driving can burn a lot of calories.
Then, picking up, hauling, and dropping off bags of groceries to the customers doorstep requires strength and endurance and will help you improve your level of fitness.
You work entirely through their app, which makes things super easy and you can get really good at this job, nailing it down to a science, which will improve your drive times and help you earn even more money potentially.
Read our Instacart driver review to get the full scoop on this delivery driver job.
18. UberEATS
Driving for UberEATS is the perfect side job if you’re looking to work nights and weekends for extra money.
This job is completely flexible, allowing you to work from the comfort of your car, using their app.
It’s a great opportunity to make extra money and many people actually drive for UberEATS full time too!
You’ll be getting paid to pickup and delivery restaurant takeout orders to customers.
For example, a customer will place an order to Pizza Hut then you’ll assign the order to yourself, pickup and deliver the Pizza Hut order to the customer.
That’s it!
This is great because you can work independently, without the need to report to a manager or wear suit and tie.
19. Lyft
With Lyft you will get paid to work from your car, delivering people, like a taxi driver.
You’ll use your own car, pick the shifts you’ll work, and work from an app.
People are going crazy for this side hustle because it’s so flexible.
You get other perks like weekly pay, on-demand pay, flexible schedule and more.
You must meet these driver requirements:
- Must be 21 or older
- Must pass a DMV check and background check
- Must use either an Android or iPhone smartphone
- Must have your driver’s license for a minimum of one year
- Must provide proof of valid insurance
- Must provide proof of a car inspection
- Must provide a photo of yourself
- Must have valid license plates
- Must have current registration.
And, meet the vehicle requirements as well, like how the vehicle must have four doors, meet minimum vehicle age requirements according to your area, etc.
20. Uber
Uber is similar to Lyft, in that you’ll be getting paid to taxi passengers to their destination.
My brother-in-law did this, working for Uber for years and absolutely loved it.
He was able to make money working for Uber around his busy schedule while still caring for his newborn baby while his wife worked days.
They were able to save thousands of dollars on daycare costs because he was able to watch the baby during days while his wife worked.
Online Teaching
Teaching online is a lot different today than what the educational landscape looked like a few years ago.
Teaching jobs are plentiful and if you enjoy helping others and sharing your knowledge, these next 2 jobs might be perfect for you!
21. ESL Teacher
As an ESL teacher you will be getting paid to teach English to Chinese students online.
You’ll work with students one-on-one with a curriculum planned by your ESL company, at under an hour per teaching session.
I had an online friend who did this, making around $1,600/month part-time.
You can earn up to $22/hour depending on the ESL company you work for.
Here are some ESL companies to check out:
22. Online Instructor
As an online instructor you’ll teach students online about any topic you choose.
You can create a whole business for yourself doing this.
Melyssa Griffin made $100,000+ in 14 days teaching online.
Mariah Coz is known for her $400,000+ launches of her limited online courses.
Could this be you, too?
Here are the steps you follow to become an online instructor:
- Pick a niche
- Reach your audience
- Earn money passively
Online teaching is great for passive income.
You spend the time up front to craft your course, then set it up on a system where it’s available online and students can purchase any time 24/7, helping you make money in your sleep.
Picking a Niche
First, you pick your niche.
This is your course topic.
What problem are you going to solve for your audience?
What is their pain point?
How are you going to make life easier for them?
Keep this in mind when you pick your niche and create your course.
Here are some examples of course niches, to give you some inspiration:
- Productivity
- Project management
- Creating a SAAS business
- Cooking french cuisine
- Learning piano
- Learning Mandarin
You can see how all these topics can solve problems.
Creating a Productivity Course
People struggle with productivity and veering off task so they are looking for guidance to help them become more productive which in turn will help them save time and become less stressed.
Building Your Project Management Course
Project managers want to learn how they can be better and lead projects effortlessly with less stress, getting people to follow them.
So, they want to take a course to learn these skills, get study guides on passing specific certifications for project management, etc.
A SAAS Course
Next, aspiring business owners are curious about starting a SAAS business but don’t know where to start.
They’re looking for a curriculum to follow that tells them the steps to follow to create their own SAAS business.
Creating Passion Project Courses About Cooking, Language Learning, and More
Cooking french cuisine, learning piano and learning the language of Mandarin are all passion projects.
People want to learn these things for personal enrichment, entertainment, and some may even require the skill for work.
They are looking for a place to help them learn these skills and a course in the above niches will solve that problem!
Does this all make sense?
Reaching Your Audience
Once you’ve figured out what you’ll teach, next it’s about reaching your audience.
Where does your audience hang out?
- Facebook groups
- Other places?
Once you know more about your ideal customer and where they hang out, you can target those places to sell your course to them.
Building a sales funnel is essential here.
You are introducing yourself as this expert stranger to them.
They are going to want to get warmed up to you and learn more about your teaching style, who you are, where you come from, etc.
Offering a lead magnet early on is a great way to build trust and offer pure value.
Exchange that freebie for their email address and start building your list for your course launch.
While you are preparing the course, you can send out helpful, education emails in a sequence to your audience, warming them up and getting them ready for introduction to your course.
Earning Money Passively
Once you’ve put your sales funnel to work, it’s all about making money in your sleep.
All the working pieces are in place and you can sit back and moderate, as needed, helping students with questions, etc.
Places to host your online course
You could be the next success story!
Social Networking and Social Media
Social media-related jobs are growing, year over year.
It’s become apparent that companies are understanding the importance of social media in business operation and as such, tons of new social networking and social media jobs are coming to light.
Take a look at these 3 jobs in the social media space.
23. Pinterest Manager
A Pinterest Manager is in charge of managing the Pinterest account for a client.
Pinterest is an excellent source of traffic for companies so it makes sense that they would invest in a professional to manage the network for them.
Tasks might include:
- Pinning new content from the client website
- Creating Pinterest graphics
- Managing/monitoring analytics and traffic data
- Following relevant users
- Creating new Pinterest boards and joining group boards
- And, more!
The team over at Chasing Foxes now have over 300K Pinterest followers and have attributed the platform to be a driving traffic source for them, helping them reach $15,000/month in revenue!
24. Facebook Ads Manager
A Facebook Ads managers main duties are to manage Facebook ads for a company.
This is a full-time job all in itself.
Ad management involves things like:
- Split testing ad groups
- Managing campaign budgets
- Optimizing Facebook ad campaigns
- Creating ad graphics
- Writing keyword-rich, captivating ad captions
- Plus, more!
Facebook ads are the sole source of traffic and income for many companies so this is an important position.
Imagine spending $5,000/month on Facebook ads, to get a return of $15,000/month in revenue!
This is what companies are doing thanks to Facebook and the Facebook ads manager is the expert behind it all.
If you know Facebook and Facebook ads well, you could give this a try.
Many successful ads managers started with one client and grew their portfolio from there, making thousands of dollars per month.
This is a great way to help you get to $400 in extra income, fast.
25. Social Media Manager
A social media manager will manage all social media for a client.
This means they’ll have their hands in a couple different pots: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
This person will create the social media strategy for the company and execute that plan to help their client reach their goals:
- Increase social engagement
- Spreading brand awareness
- Increasing revenue and traffic
I know many online friends that have started doing this on the side, starting with $500/month in extra income with just one client and now making thousands per month with multiple clients.
This could be you!
These are just a handful of the social media jobs out there.
Now, there are management jobs for just about every major social network including Twitter, LinkedIn, and more.
Final Thoughts
There you go, 25 ways on how to make $400 dollars fast.
What do you think?
Do you have another way to raise $400 fast?
Comment down below to share with us.
We’d love to hear from you!
