Short on Rent Money? Try These Things

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If you need to pay rent tomorrow and don’t have enough to cover it, there are quite a few resources you can draw on. Rent assistance programs can also help cover your expenses in a pinch.

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Is rent due tomorrow, and you don’t have enough to pay? You’ve come to the right place. Many people struggle to find ways to pay rent, especially in hard economic times. You’re not the first to struggle with rent, and you surely won’t be the last. It’s all just a matter of finding out where you can source money to raise enough to pay rent tomorrow.

The actions and opportunities we’ve listed below can help you pay rent, either partially or in full. While you can't live rent-free, they can at least help you figure out how you’re going to pay rent within your grace period, or for the next month coming up. Paying your rent doesn’t have to be difficult, as long as you know where to earn money. Saving a little here and there can go a long way, too.

At the same time, earning money is something you should prioritize in the future if you want to avoid this situation again. Let’s take a closer look at how you can pay your rent tomorrow so you can keep living where you’re at. After all, moving just adds to your expenses.

Address the Issue at the Source

help with rent

One of the first things you’ll want to do if you’re struggling to pay rent in less than 24 hours is to communicate with your landlord as soon as you can. Explain to them that you need help with rent, and more importantly, how you plan to fix it.

For example, there may be a clause in your lease that allows you a certain period of time in which rent payments are not considered late. Many leasing companies have a buffer of at least 2-3 days, depending on the circumstances. After a week, landlords typically start to introduce late fees and much more drastic consequences for late rent payment.

As you’re speaking to your landlord, try to negotiate a delay and/or partial payment. If an agreement can be made, ensure that you get the terms in writing, and a signature from both parties. This will be the only way you can justify your case if the issue turns sour.

Alternatively, if you don’t have any luck with your landlord, you can always ask a family member for rent. They may be able to loan you the money you need to make ends meet tomorrow. You may need to sign an agreement with this family member as well, but it’s always a good idea to pay them back as soon as you can.

In fact, we’ll now show you how you can earn money quickly in order to pay your rent and/or pay your family back for their generosity.

Draw on Community Support

i need money to pay rent tomorrow

If you find yourself in need of rent money, there are many programs and institutions out there willing to help you. Don’t feel ashamed that you need help with your rent, especially if circumstances are extenuating. Everyone falls on hard times at some point in their lives, but there are helping hands to get us back on our feet.

For instance, you can visit the Salvation Army’s local office to see what programs and/or opportunities they can offer. It never hurts to ask what resources are available to you. For example, you can look into the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Section 8 eligibility requirements to see if you are eligible for this housing assistance.

Those renters who just need a small boost until things look up can apply to Modest Needs for grants up to $1,000 to pay for housing. The National Low Income Housing Coalition offers the Emergency Rental Assistance Program which is funded through state and local programs.

Many of these opportunities are waiting for you to take advantage of them. Don’t be shy! Like paying rent, asking for help is one of the ways you take responsibility as an adult.

Ways to Earn Rent Money Quickly

These are gig economy jobs you can do to earn money fast. The gig economy is built upon small tasks that can quickly compound into serious side hustle money. Or, in your case, the money you can use for rent.

Sell Things You No Longer Want

The need to pay rent can put a new perspective on what you can and can’t live without. In many cases, it can also be a great time to find possessions you no longer use or care about that you can sell for extra money. Remember, the funds you make will go towards your rent payment, so weigh getting the most for your possessions with selling them quickly.

Sites like Craigslist and apps such as Decluttr, Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, and selling apps like OfferUp allow you to sell what you don’t want anymore for some extra rent money.

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Have a Yard/Garage Sale

You can also set up shop on your driveway. Literally. Having a successful yard sale to get rid of some things, especially if you’re looking to make cash. People expect bargains at garage sales, but finding a motivated buyer who will fork over some cash for your belongings is easier at a garage sale than it could be online.

Pet Sit

Taking care of animals can be rewarding, especially if you pet sit for neighbors and friends. You can more than $30 a day (or even up to $1,000 a month) by taking care of their pooches for some extra cash. Depending on how well you know the pet parents, you may even be able to get advanced payment for services rendered.

If you don’t know anyone in your area who’s looking for a pet sitter, check out Rover. You can find pet-sitting opportunities in practically every city.

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Sell Your Unwanted Jewelry and Gold

Parting with your unwanted jewelry and selling gold can be a lucrative endeavor, depending on what you own. It might be tempting to hit up a pawn shop to get cold hard cash for these pieces, but take a second to scout out the online market. See what online jewelry buyers will pay you before you go hawking your gold jewelry. Or simply check out our resource on where to sell jewelry and get the most money for rent.

Babysit

As long as there are kids, there will probably be a need for babysitting. If you need to find babysitting jobs in your area, check out Care.com. You can also sign up on this website to promote your services for the future.

Life is a valuable thing, but did you know you can get paid to donate your blood and plasma? Many people make a respectable amount of money donating, though you will need to meet health requirements in order to qualify. Chat with your local blood bank to see how you can donate plasma to pay rent tomorrow.

Deliver Food

It might be hard to think about food when you’re stressed about paying the rent, but your necessary funds could be right there on the plate waiting for you.

You can deliver food with apps such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Customers will pay you to pick up their orders from local restaurants and deliver them to their doorstep. Tipping can be lucrative depending on how fast you are, but with rent due tomorrow, you can hustle at this side job in order to make your payment on-time.

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Complete Micro Tasks

Apps such as TaskRabbit, Clickworker, and Zaarly pay people to complete small tasks for clients. These tasks vary from person to person and city to city, but they can be rewarding. If you have to pay rent tomorrow and find yourself short a few bucks, run a couple of errands for your local neighborhood and you could be back in the black in no time.

Deliver Groceries

Do you enjoy grocery shopping? If you do, delivering food for places such as Instacart, DoorDash, and Shipt can help you pay rent. The deliveries you make today will help you stay in your home today so you can have a warm meal once the work is done.

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Deliver Packages

Obtaining a job at FedEx, UPS, or even the United States Postal Service can take a while and you may not be successful. However, you can still deliver packages with companies like Amazon Flex. The mega-giant’s delivery service is quickly challenging the traditional contenders for the privilege to deliver packages, so jump on the Amazon train to earn your rent money today. 

Take Surveys Online

Online surveys certainly can’t pay your rent on their own, but they can be an easy way to make some extra cash. For example, sites such as Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and Survey Junkie will pay you to take surveys, play games, read emails, and even participate in daily challenges for extra side hustle money.

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Become a Driver

Rent payments can be made by driving people through Uber and Lyft. In fact, some drivers use these driving services as a way to make full-time income. You might be in your car a lot, but at least you’ll have a home to go back to once you’ve completed your stops and gotten paid. Just don’t forget to shell some of that money out for rent.

Temp Agency Work

Finding work at a temp agency might be more of a long-term solution, but there’s nothing saying you can’t find a temporary job that will pay in cash that day. Speak with your local temp agency to see what work they have available, and list your name there for future jobs so you can be ready to pay next month’s rent ahead of time.

Obtaining a Lump Sum to Pay Rent

Chipping away at your rent with small sums of money can definitely help you achieve your financial goals, but sometimes it takes a larger sum of money to knock out your rent payment.

Here are some options you have for borrowing a lot of money at a time in order to pay your rent:

 
 
 
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As you can see, it’s much harder to obtain the full value of your rent from a single source, besides your full-time job. Many of these opportunities also require a bit of time to process, so keep this in mind as you consider your approach to paying rent.

You should also be aware of any fees associated with these opportunities, specifically paying with a credit card. Though this option may be available to you, it is definitely not without consequence.

How to Prepare For Next Month

Whew! Now that you’ve figured out how to pay your rent tomorrow, the work has just begun. You’ve got 30 days to prepare for your next payment. Are you ready?

Here’s a checklist of how you can set yourself up for success when it comes time to pay rent again:

You can also take advantage of rental assistance programs, such as those we’ll introduce you to below.

Rent Tomorrow, Invest Today

We hope you’ve found this article on how to pay your rent tomorrow useful in finding resources you can take advantage of to help you make your payment. It never hurts to ask for help when paying rent, especially in the face of losing your living space. Who knows, the lessons you learn today are those you might pass on to your children so they don’t have to stress about rent. Pay it forward by paying your rent tomorrow and investing time into your future today.

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About the author

Brian Meiggs
Hi, I'm Brian Meiggs! A personal finance expert, entrepreneur, and the founder of My Millennial Guide. My drive is to help others unlock the wealth of freedom and pave the path to financial success. With my bachelor's degree in finance, I help millennials follow the smart money in order to increase their earning potential and start building wealth for the future. I write regularly about side hustles, investing, and general personal finance topics aimed to help anyone earn more, pay off debt, and reach financial freedom. I have been quoted in major publications including Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, NASDAQ, Discover, GoDaddy, BiggerPockets, Fox News, Debt.com, Quick Sprout, Money Geek, MSN Money and many more!