How to Make $100 Fast [Apps + In-Person Opportunities]

Hip-hop and rap artists frequently talk about “the Benjamins,” aka $100 bills. Most of us don’t need to carry a huge wad of $100 bills in our pockets to get by, but sometimes, having an extra $100 can make life a lot easier.

Maybe you know you’ll be a little short at the end of the month to cover all of your bills. Or maybe you just want to take advantage of a special sale to buy something fun. Whatever the reason, you need some extra cash to the tune of at least $100.

So, how do you get that hundo in a hurry? I’ve compiled a list of several strategies that can help you make money quickly—some of which you can even do over and over again.

If you’re ready to rake in the Benjamins, try out these opportunities.

Ways to Make $100 Fast—Our Top Picks

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How to Make Money Fast Online

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Not a people person? No worries. It’s easy to make some extra cash online.

1. Sell Unused Gift Cards

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Sometimes, people just miss the gift-giving mark and give you a gift card for somewhere you would never go. No vegan is hoping for a gift card to a steakhouse. Even if you receive gift cards to places you enjoy, sometimes you would rather use the value of the gift card more responsibly. Good news! You can ditch those unused gift cards and instead get stocks in top companies.

1. Plynk^™ Invest

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• Available: Sign up here
• Best for: Beginner investors
• Promotion: Earn $10 for signing up; Plynk will also double your deposit up to $75

Plynk^™ is an app designed to help you start investing and learn along the way, and they’re currently offering up to $60 in bonuses for new accounts.

The Plynk app helps beginner investors put their money into an investment portfolio. Specifically, Plynk offers access to a selection of stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and crypto—all starting at a single dollar. The platform uses straightforward, easy-to-understand language to explain investing concepts. No jargon. No complex charts and tables. Just simple-language tips and how-tos.

One of Plynk’s most interesting features involves, of all things, gift cards. Specifically, you can redeem unused gift cards for money that you can use to buy stocks in your favorite companies.

If this sounds interesting to you, consider opening an account with Plynk. To make it more worth your while, they have a few special offers.

Simply open an account and link your bank account to get a $10 sign-up bonus. Plynk is also offering a special bonus promotion through Feb. 15, 2024. If you make a deposit, Plynk will double it up to $75. Customers must have a minimum of $25 in net deposits during the promotional period to receive a match. That means you may be eligible for up to $85 in signup bonuses from Plynk by taking qualifying actions.

Read more in our Plynk review.

Related: The 9 Best ETFs for Beginners

2. Create a Digital Product

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Creating a digital product is an excellent way to build a passive income stream. Once you have a product and post it for sale, all you have to do is collect the money.

For instance, if you consider yourself an expert on a topic, you might create an online course. Of course, creating a quality curriculum could take a lot of time, and some subjects might become outdated.

Instead, you could make a more evergreen product.

One option is creating digital products and selling them on Etsy, one of the most popular online marketplaces for original items. And don’t worry: You don’t need to be a professional graphics designer to do this. Anyone can take an Etsy E-Printables online course to learn how to create and sell a product. Check out the course in the product box below to learn more.

3. Take Advantage of Sign-Up Bonuses

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There’s nothing closer to “free money” than sign-up bonuses. The bigger the bonus, the better. Ideally, you want to sign up for a product that can continue to help you make money.

If you’re looking for an app that will give you a solid cash bonus and continue to help you financially, our top pick is the SoFi Checking and Savings Account.

SoFi Checking and Savings Account ($50 to $300 in Free Cash)

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• Available: Sign up here
• Platforms: Web, mobile app (iOS, Android)
• Promotion: Earn $50 to $300 in free cash

The SoFi Checking and Savings Account sounds like your run-of-the-mill bank account, but it’s more: It’s also a high-yield savings account that earns 10 times the national average percentage yield (APY) and more than the average high-yield account. Better still, it boosts your ability to save right off the bat by rewarding you with $50 to $300 upon sign-up.

Sofi Checking and Savings covers all of the basics: no monthly account fees, no minimum balances, and website and mobile app access. But it also has several perks that match or top the competition. Features include:

• Early paycheck reception when you sign up for direct deposit
• FDIC insurance of up to $2 million (vs. $250,000 for most accounts)
• Up to 15% cash back when you spend with local retailers
• No-fee overdraft coverage up to $50
• Round-ups on debit card purchases, which are deposited into your savings “Vault”

And right now, you can get a head start on your savings with qualifying direct deposits.

→ How to get your free cash with SoFi

First, you’ll need to Sign up with SoFi. Then you’ll receive $50 in bonus cash if $1,000.00 to $4,999.99 is sent to your account within a 25-day period, starting from when you receive the first direct deposit. That number jumps to $300 when you receive $5,000 or more.

The higher cash bonus requires you to hit an admittedly high threshold, but the $50 is still a reasonable bonus for a much more manageable threshold.

Related: 11 Best Investment Accounts [Types for Beginners to Use]

4. Sell Unwanted Items

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Have a lot of stuff you’ve been meaning to drop off at a thrift store or the dump? Assuming the items are still usable, consider selling your unwanted items online.

If you have big-ticket items, such as furniture or sports gear, you can make extra money selling those items. For less expensive items, such as non-designer clothes, consider bundling several pieces together, rather than selling each one individually.

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is a popular platform to sell items online, especially for people selling items that would attract local buyers who can meet you either at your home or a convenient location. (But you can also sell to people who are farther away if you’re OK with shipping items.)

When people pick items up in person, you can choose to get paid right away however you want, whether you prefer cash, Venmo, or another option. When you sell items that need to be shipped, your payout is initiated 15 days after the item is marked as shipped or five days after the item is delivered upon receiving delivery confirmation. Facebook collects a selling fee of 5% (or $0.40 minimum per order) deducted from your payout when people pay through Facebook Marketplace.

Related: 31 Millennial Spending Habits & Income Statistics to Know

5. Referral Bonuses

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Think about all of your favorite apps. Would you recommend them to others? Well, some of those apps might pay you to do that, in the form of referral bonuses.

Sometimes, people just need to sign up through your referral links. Other times, they may need to complete other small tasks, too. In some cases, the person signing up might also receive a bonus.

But as long as you get some extra money fast, and someone else enjoys the app, it’s a win-win!

It goes without saying, but don’t refer people to apps that you don’t like yourself. You don’t want to ruin relationships just to make a few bucks.

Related: How to Get Free Stocks for Signing Up: 15 Apps w/Free Shares

How to Make Money Fast In Person

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Some of these methods require some effort, but they are great ways to get money quickly.

6. Start a Job with a Sign-Up Bonus

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Demand for workers is currently high, so to attract talent, many well-known brands are paying hefty sign-up bonuses. For example, McDonald’s, Hilton Hotels, Amazon, and AT&T are among some of the largest companies that are currently offering bonuses.

The amount offered depends on the location and position. In my research, I’ve seen bonuses for entry-level positions between $200-$500 and higher-level roles offering $1,000. Sometimes, the bonuses are even applicable to part-time workers. Some locations don’t pay your bonus until you’ve worked there for at least three months, but other places split up the bonus so you get some of it much sooner.

Typically, if you search “sign-on bonus,” “sign-up bonus,” or “signing bonus” and your location, you’ll see a list of opportunities near you.

None of these jobs need to be your forever jobs. But if you want to make money to pay for a wedding, vacation, or just to catch up on bills, these signing bonuses make hourly rates look better and can help you reach your financial goals faster.

7. Return Items

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We’ve all suffered from buyer’s remorse at one point or another. Fortunately, many stores today have extremely lenient return policies. Indeed, it’s easier to ship back items than ever before.

Many brands now allow Happy Returns, a reverse-logistics service that helps people return items and avoid shipping costs. Happy Returns, which is owned by PayPal, provides more than 9,000 “Return Bars” where people can perform box-free return drop-offs. Almost 90% of American households are within 10 miles of a drop-off location.

You usually get your money back once your item arrives at the company’s warehouse, which often takes just a few days, and typically, the money is returned by the same method it was received. (Thus, if you paid with a credit card, your card will be credited; if you paid through PayPal, the money will return to your PayPal account.)

Related: 19 Best Investment Apps and Platforms [Free + Paid]

8. Rent Out Your Parking Space

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Most people know you can rent out a spare room in your home for extra money. However, you have to deal with a lot of risks and regulations. Also, getting your setup arranged can take a chunk of time, so renting a spare room isn’t an ideal option when you need to make money quickly.

An easier area to rent out is your parking space, which you can do via a long-term arrangement, short-term agreement, or even on a one-off basis.

For example: If every apartment in your complex comes with a parking spot, but you have no vehicle, another person in the building might be happy to pay you every month for the use of this spot.

I can also tell you from experience that if you live near a college or professional football stadium, or other in-demand sports locations, you might be able to make money every game day. Parking lot prices are often expensive, so many people do seek out cheaper parking alternatives even if it means a slightly longer walk.

It takes very little time and effort to let a car or two stay in your driveway during a game, so this is essentially a passive income play. (It’s not no-risk, however. You’ll have to be careful about drunk and otherwise obnoxious drivers.)

9. Become a Rideshare Driver

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Taxis are out, rideshares are in. So if you’re comfortable driving others around, this is an opportunity for you to make money whenever you have free time. You choose your own hours.

Uber and Lyft are two of the most popular rideshare apps. The more you drive, the more money you make. Some people drive as their full-time job and make more than 100 dollars a day, while others just do a couple of rides for a little extra cash. You create your own schedule.

Uber

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Uber drivers automatically get paid every week.

Need money faster? You can use Instant Pay to cash out up to five times per day. Instant Pay charges $0.85 per cashout, but it’s the fastest way to get your money. It puts funds on your personal debit card. Soon, Uber will be releasing an Uber Pro Card, which will allow free automatic cashouts after every trip.

Lyft

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Lyft automatically transfers driver’s previous week’s earnings to their accounts every Tuesday. People who want to get paid faster can use Express Pay, which functions the same way as Uber’s Instant Pay.

Express pay costs $0.85 per transfer and sends funds to your debit card. Lyft Direct is another option. This is a debit card and bank account for Lyft drivers that offers instant payments after every ride without any fees.

Related: The 13 Best Investment Apps for Beginners

10. Food Delivery

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Delivering food, whether from restaurants or grocery stores, is a popular way to make money outside of one’s full-time job. Popular options include DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart.

A major benefit of these jobs is that you can largely create your own schedule—while some hours will be out of play because grocery stores and restaurants typically aren’t open 24/7, you can mostly work when you want.

Any delivery job has the opportunity for a cash tip, and these apps typically let you cash out quickly. If you live in a large city and accept as many orders as possible, you can make $100 quickly.

11. Pet Sitting

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Animal lovers may be willing to watch pets for free, but it’s better when the gig provides you with some extra cash. While pet sitting, you may be asked to walk dogs or other pets, feed animals, play, and clean up after them. Some pet sitting gigs have the person spend the night with the animals, while others just require check-ins once or twice a day.

If you have friends or family members with pets, offer your services to them. People often prefer to have someone they already know watch their pet.

Alternatively, you can sign up with a professional service, such as Rover, that can match you with pet owners who need help.

Related: 28 Best Jobs for 13-Year-Olds [Online + Side Hustles]

12. Have a Plant Sale

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Everyone thinks about garage sales when they need some extra money. But if you have a green thumb, you might consider a plant sale.

For instance: If you have a mature or uncommon variety of a Monstera plant, a single plant could sell for $100.

No, most plants don’t go for that much. But if you love gardening and have a lot of plants in the back, believe it or not, you could put them up for sale and make money quickly. Just look at local garden and greenhouse websites to get an idea of what your plants typically sell for, then advertise on social media and/or Craigslist, and consider making a couple physical signs to post around the neighborhood.

Related: 50+ Best Money-Making Apps That Pay You Real Money

How to Make $100 Fast: FAQs

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How else can I make extra cash?

There are more easy ways to get money, but none of them are likely to rack up $100 quickly. Still, if you combine a few methods, you’ll reach your goal faster. If you’re looking for fun ways to get a little more money, you can get money playing games, being part of focus groups, or taking online surveys. You can even watch videos online for cash rewards.

How are you paid when you make money online?

Online jobs that are full-time, such as social media management or working as a virtual assistant, often pay through direct deposit or PayPal. Casual gigs, like taking surveys or playing games, sometimes pay in gift cards instead.

Related:

• 7 Best Paid Surveys for Kids and Teens [Online Surveys]
• How to Get Free Money Now [15 Ways to Earn Money]
• How to Invest Money: 5 Steps to Start Investing w/Little Money