How To Get 20 Dollars In 5 Minutes – 10 Legit Ideas To Try

So, you’re wondering how to get $20 dollars in five minutes and are on a serious time crunch.

People need money quickly for all sorts of different reasons. Maybe you need to pay off a bill before it’s due, or maybe you’re just trying to save up for a certain expense or treat.

Whatever the case, there are numerous ways you can get some quick cash when you’re in a bind.

That’s why this post is covering some realistic methods to get $20 in five minutes or even instantly in some cases.

Let’s get to it.

How To Get $20 In Five Minutes

Many of the methods I mention here are perfect for getting $20 instantly thanks to using sign-up bonuses or other nifty tricks. But some of the ideas are little side hustles you can try to also make a quick buck.

You won’t get rich with these ideas, but they’re effective ways to earn some easy, quick cash when you need it most.

1. Shop With Rakuten

One of the easiest ways to make $20 in five minutes or less is to use shopping extensions like Rakuten that pay you to shop.

With Rakuten, you can earn cash back for shopping with thousands of partners. And right now, it’s also paying a $30 sign-up bonus when you spend at least $30 at a qualifying merchant.

And Rakuten partners with plenty of popular retailers like:

• Adidas
• CVS
• Expedia
• Macy’s
• Staples
• Target
• Walmart

Cash you earn deposits in your Rakuten account, and you get paid quarterly through check or PayPal.

This quarterly payment system means that you have to wait a bit to get your cash. But it’s technically a way to make $20 in 5 minutes or less through its awesome sign-up bonus.

The bottom line is that Rakuten is one of the best ways to get paid to shop, and it’s my favorite shopping extension that I use for all my online shopping.

Sign up for Rakuten or read my Rakuten review for all the details!

2. Sell Your Used Stuff

Another way you can potentially get $20 in five minutes is to sell your unused stuff for some quick money. I’ve done this in the past to make extra cash, and I’ve sold instruments, clothing, and furniture on the Facebook Marketplace.

Other popular things you can usually sell very quickly include:

• Apparel and accessories
• Electronics (headphones, computers, iPads and tablets, PS5s, and other gaming devices)
• Home goods
• Sneakers
• Tools
• Toys
• Watches and jewelry
• Vintage goods

I actually made a YouTube video on some of the best places to start selling your stuff that you can also watch for ideas to get started.

You can list your items for sale on local selling marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp. There are also online marketplaces like Mercari and eBay where you can list as well.

Selling locally is better for making cash as fast as possible. This is why running something like a garage sale can even work (my family did this when I was younger a few times.)

3. Use Get-Paid-To Websites

If you’re still wondering how to get 20 dollars in five minutes, one last option you can try is to use get-paid-to websites.

GPT sites pay you for completing short tasks like answering paid surveys, shopping online, downloading apps, and watching ads. You can earn a few bucks per hour, but sometimes, GPT sites have lucrative shopping or download offers that can pay $20 or more in just a few minutes.

Some leading GPT sites and apps you can try include:

• Branded Surveys – Earn PayPal cash and free gift cards for sharing your opinion!
• Swagbucks – A popular reward site that pays you to play games, answer surveys, shop online, and more.
• Survey Junkie – Another leading survey site that lets you cash out at just $5!
• QuickRewards – One of my favorite platforms that pays real money instanty since it has a $0.01 minimum cash out requirement.
• Grindabuck – One of my favorite GPT sites with a great offer wall and plenty of ways to earn.

My YouTube video also covers some other popular paid survey platforms that are a great way to make money online as a beginner.

It might take you a little more than five minutes to make 20 dollars unless you complete a shopping or download offer.

However, these sites are a very easy way to make some extra beermoney on the side without much effort. And you can always complete a survey or two while watching TV or in your spare time.

Extra Reading – The Best Micro Task Websites.

4. Borrow The Cash

Another simple way to get $20 in five minutes is to borrow the money against an upcoming paycheck of yours.

There’s actually plenty of apps out there that let you take out a cash advance against upcoming paychecks. You don’t pay interest for doing so, and there’s no credit check either.

Dave is one popular cash advance app you can use. It lets you get an advance of up to $500, and it also has a nifty side hustle section to help you find more money-making opportunities.

Brigit and Albert are two other options. Each app lets you borrow up to $250 against an upcoming paycheck, which can be very useful if you’re in a pinch and just need a quick spot.

I like Brigit since it also has a useful gig apps section where you can find various side hustle ideas to boost your income. And there’s also a budgeting tool to help you stay on track with your spending.

All-in-all, these sorts of cash advance apps can help people who are in a tight spot for a few days.

My post on how to make $500 in 24 hours covers how these apps work in greater detail if you want to learn more about Brigit and Albert.

5. Play Games For Money

Are you a fan of mobile or PC gaming? If so, one legit way to make $20 in five minutes is to play video games for money.

It might surprise you, but there are tons of paid gaming apps and platforms out there that pay you with cash or gift cards for trying new games.

Some of my favorites include:

• Rewarded Play: This Android app lets you earn gift cards for playing mobile games.
• Gamehag: A PC gaming platform that lets you win free Steam games, in-game rewards, and various gift cards.
• Mistplay: Another leading Android rewards app that has PayPal and gift card rewards.
• JustPlay: A popular app like Mistplay that’s also for Android gamers.
• Buff: This platform lets you earn passive rewards for playing popular PC titles.
• Money Well: Another Android app with a variety of rewards.

These apps won’t make you rich. But if you already spend time gaming, they can be a pretty fun side hustle idea to test out.

And these platforms add new games regularly, so there’s usually new content to play and earn with.

6. Try User Testing Gigs

If you want to earn money online, you can always try various user-testing gigs as a way to make $20 in five to ten minutes.

User-testing gigs involve testing websites and apps that are in development to help developers improve them. Usually, you record yourself completing a series of tasks, provide live feedback, and then get paid for your time.

Companies like User Testing are one of the most popular testing platforms out there. And you get paid $10 for each short testing session you complete.

You don’t need any quality assurance experience to become a tester either. All you need to do is follow instructions, provide honest and thoughtful feedback, and that’s it.

There are plenty of other companies like UserTesting as well that pay you with free PayPal cash for completing short tests. Some popular options include:

• TestingTime
• PlaytestCloud (for testing mobile games)
• UserCrowd
• TryMyUI
• Userlytics

All these companies pay similar rates, and tests take a short amount of time.

The tricky part is getting tests regularly since it’s a first-come, first-serve basis. That’s why checking your email regularly and claiming open tests is so vital.

But for a free online gig that pays daily when you get tests, user-testing gigs are extremely popular.

7. Rent Out Your Extra Space

While it might surprise you, it’s actually possible to create a passive income source that can pay you $20 or much more in a very short amount of time.

With Neighbor, you can make money by renting out your spare storage space to people in your community. It’s basically like Airbnb, just for storage space instead of homes.

What I like about Neighbor is that you can also get creative and rent out a variety of spaces like a:

• Spare room
• Parking space
• Garage
• Basement
• Shed

Listing your space takes a couple of minutes. And you get to set your price and even outline rules for when and how often renters can come and access their stuff.

If you have a decent amount of land or an empty parking space, this could be a very nice way to earn money on autopilot without lifting a finger.

You probably don’t get a renter in 5 minutes, but the process of creating your listing takes about that long. And you could be looking at $20 to $100+ per month in passive income.

8. Pawn Stuff For Cash

Like selling stuff you own, another option to make $20 in five minutes is to pawn stuff for cash.

Pawning is different from selling because you’re using valuables you own as collateral to borrow money. And when you pay back the money you borrow, you get your items back.

That’s how “pawning” works, although you can still sell stuff to pawn shops if you just want the cash and don’t care about what you’re selling.

And the great news is that there’s plenty of popular things to pawn like:

• Antiques
• Collectibles like sports cards, rare coins, historical artifacts, or even more niche items like Funko Pops
• Electronics
• Expensive sports equipment
• Jewelry
• Instruments
• Wedding rings
• Tools
• Video games and consoles

The downside to pawning stuff is that you earn less than you would if you sold it outright in many cases. But the advantage is you can bring your valuables into a pawn shop and walk out with cash very quickly a lot of the time.

9. Use Different Reward Apps

Rakuten is one of my favorite ways to make 20 dollars in five minutes because it has an excellent sign-up bonus. However, many reward apps and websites also have nice sign-up offers or pay you with cash back for shopping.

Some other freebies and money-saving apps you can take advantage of include:

• Drop: My favorite shopping app that also lets you earn $5 to $10+ if you enter a Drop invite code.
• Fetch Rewards: A leading grocery rewards app that pays you with free gift cards for shopping at partner brands.
• Pogo: A popular passive income app that pays you with PayPal money whenever you shop and share your data.
• Upside: A popular gas rewards app that lets you earn up to $0.25 back per gallon at thousands of U.S. gas stations.
• Receipt Hog: This Fetch Rewards alternative pays you with Amazon gift cards and PayPal money for uploading shopping receipts.

I’ve been consistently using these types of reward apps since college to save more money. And if you’re consistent with them, earning $20 to $30 per month or more isn’t unrealistic.

Plus, if there’s available sign-up bonuses for various apps, you can reach $20 in free money in just a matter of minutes.

10. Return Cans

One final idea to get 20 dollars in five minutes is to return cans and bottles to your local store.

My friends and I did this plenty of time during college to make money. And if you have a small amount of bottles or cans, you can easily make a quick $10 to $20 without much effort.

You won’t get rich with this idea, but hey, sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ones to try out.

Final Thoughts

I hope our guide on how to get $20 in five minutes helps you make some fast cash when you need it most.

Between in-person and online side hustles, I really think there are plenty of ways to make a quick buck if you’re in a pinch.

However, I also encourage you to explore more long-term money making ideas, like selling your skills as a freelancer or gig economy jobs. I’ve personally moved into more freelancing gigs to increase my income, and it pays way more than any of the apps or quick money ideas I’ve tried over the years.

In any case, best of luck in getting your quick $20!

Looking for other money-making methods? Checkout:

• The Best Ways To Make $2,000 A Week.
• The Best Apps That Pay You To Drive.