Life comes at you fast, and so do expenses.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make $800 fast enough to cover that bill or last minute vacation you’re planning.
These tips and tricks aren’t a one-time money grab either. These methods are legit ways to start up a side hustle or passive income stream that can give you consistent payouts as long as you keep them up.
Let’s dive into some realistic ways to make 800 dollars fast when you’re in a pinch and need some quick cash!
How To Make 800 Dollars Fast
There are tons of ways to make easy money on the side, from rewards apps to using survey sites that pay.
But, none of these are that lucrative, which is a problem if you need to make a lot of money in a short period of time.
So, get ready to find out how to make $800 fast and a side hustle you can maintain so you can keep making money on the side.
1. Delivery Gigs
Food delivery gigs are one of our favourite ways to make some extra cash, especially if you live in a decently-sized city.
Gig apps like DoorDash and Instacart let you sign up as a delivery driver and make money on your own schedule. Plus, you earn a pretty decent hourly wage!
With Doordash, driving during mealtimes and working in a high traffic city will make you the most money.
How much you can actually make in a week with Doordash varies depending on your city or state, so there’s no guarantee.
But, you can earn above minimum wage on average.
Here’s what several salary review websites say about DoorDash pay:
- Indeed = $14.73 per hour.
- ZipRecruiter = $18 per hour.
- Glassdoor = $16 per hour.
This averages out at $16/hr, which means even working a 40 hour week you would only make $640.
Of course, if you’re holding down a fulltime job, you probably can’t commit 40 hours per week and do DoorDash for a living.
But, if you want to make $800 fast, you can definitely chip away at that goal by delivering a few hours a night after work and on weekends.
Instacart is another great delivery service you can sign up for, but instead of ready made food, you’ deliver grocery orders.
Your weekly Instacart earnings can be higher than DoorDash as well if you’re in a busy market since order payouts and tips are usually a bit higher since you’re delivering groceries and not fast food.
Here are some average hourly rates for Instacart Shoppers from different salary review websites:
This also averages out to about $16, but once again, it’s important to remember that this number will vary greatly depending on the size of the Instacart batches you’re getting and when you’re working.
The bottom line is that food delivery gigs are a reliable way to get $800 fast, and you can usually start completing deliveries around a week or two after you sign up!
Start delivering for DoorDash and Instacart today!
2. Online Freelancing
Selling your skills online is another way to make $800 dollars fast, and there are plenty of industries where online freelance talent is in demand.
Some popular freelance jobs include:
- Freelance writing
- Coding
- Data entry
- Graphic design
- Proofreading
- SEO
- Social media marketing
An advantage of freelancing is that you can also command some pretty high hourly rates.
For example, it’s not uncommon for a lot of freelancers to charge $20 to $30 per hour, and this is on the low end; experienced freelancers often charge $50 to $100+ per hour depending on the project.
Finding clients is really the hard part, not getting a good wage.
For starters, you can look on freelancing platforms like Fiverr or Upwork and browse endless opportunities suited to your skills and pay preference.
It can take a while to build up your reputation on these sites, so be prepared to accept lower rates in the beginning.
However, once you’ve established yourself on the platform and proven your skills, this can be a very lucrative side-hustle.
How much you get paid will depend on the skill you’re offering and how much experience you have on the platform.
For example, a seasoned freelance writer can make anywhere from $0.10 – $0.50 a word– so even at the lower end you can expect to make $200 for a single 2,000 word article!
3. Try Other Gig Apps
Jobs like Instacart are one popular side hustle category, but the gig economy has way more ways to make extra cash on the side.
A lot of other gig apps let you make money by offering your services to people in your city and completing odd jobs for people.
For example, apps like TaskRabbit let you make money by completing tasks for people like:
- Handyman work
- Furniture assembly
- Cleaning
- Moving
- Delivery and shopping work
As a Tasker, you set your own availability and rates based on the local market and make anywhere from $17-$44 per hour according to Glassdoor
Handy is another platform like TaskRabbit where you can complete handyman tasks for people and make extra cash.
You have to sign up to become a Handy Pro, but you can earn several hundreds of dollars with just a few projects as a Handy Pro.
The major difference is you can also get jobs in electrical and plumbing, which will pay you a lot more if you have the qualifications.
Depending on the job you do, expect to earn anywhere from $20-$54 USD/hr according to Glassdoor.
4. Teach English Online
If English is your native language, becoming an online English teacher is another way to earn $800 fast.
While some online teaching jobs require an undergraduate degree, others are just looking for people that can engage a classroom and excel in this position.
There are plenty of online platforms like VIPKid and QKids, where you can teach English to kids anywhere from 4 years old to the high-school level.
All you need to do is choose the time slots that work best with your schedule and work through the lesson plans assigned by the company you’re working for.
VIPKid caters to Chinese students looking to learn and improve their English, and you need a bachelor’s degree at minimum to get started.
However, you can make anywhere from $14-$22 USD/hour as a VIPKid tutor, and you just have to work a minimum of 7.5 hours a week.
You also have the opportunity to get a raise if you choose to renew your contract, which occurs every 6 months.
QKids is another fun way to get into teaching English, since most of the lessons are based around games and activities that make the process exciting for both tutors and students.
To get started, you provide the company with your resume and availability, as well as a screenshot of your computer specs.
Next, you complete a trial period where you have to do the following:
- Complete 2 demo interviews
- Create a 1-2 minute demo video of you reading a children’s story
- Teach 2-5 paid trial lessons
QKids tutors get paid $16/hour and work at least 6 hours a week, so it’s a good opportunity to make some consistent cash without investing too much time.
This side hustle idea might take a few weeks to get underway since onboarding can take some time.
However, with such high hourly wages, it’s definitely a realistic way to make $800 fast.
5. Ask For Overtime Or Start a Part-Time Job
If you already have a day job that pays you hourly, you can ask for overtime and potentially earn time and a half in pay (meaning your hourly wage + 50%).
Not every employer allows this, but if you know your workplace is short staffed then there is no harm in asking.
The other option is to pick up a second job that you can use to work towards that $800 goal.
If you work a regular 9 to 5, it might be difficult to find a job that matches your schedule, but some companies hire people for night shifts or for weekend work, so you can sacrifice some of that time to make extra money.
This is definitely a tough way to make $800 fast since you’re just stacking more work on top of yourself, but if you need the money, you can try this tactic for a brief stint.
6. Reduce Your Monthly Bills
If you want to make 800 dollars fast, sometimes, the best solution is just to play some financial defence.
Spending less money helps keep more money in your pocket at the end of the day, making it easier to reach your financial goals.
Ultimately, if you can take control of your finances and work to reduce your monthly expenses, you have more money when it really matters.
For starters, make sure you create a monthly budget so you actually know where every dollar you spend goes towards.
This helps you identify potential problem areas of spending and to track bad habits as they emerge.
Truebill also does this for you by tracking your spending and highlighting unnecessary monthly subscriptions that may be draining your funds.
The app is designed to help you understand your spending habits, but it also cancels subscriptions that cost you more than they’re worth and negotiate better monthly rates on your phone bill, internet, and cable.
If Truebill can snag you a lower phone or internet bill, that’s already working towards your $800 goal, so it’s worth trying.
You can also check out BillShark, another popular bill negotiation app, for a speedy way to lower your monthly bills and keep more money in your pocket.
Finally, if it’s been a while since you’ve shopped around for mobile plans, you can check out Mint Mobile.
Mint Mobile has data plans starting at just $15 per month, so if you switch from a major carrier to Mint, you can probably save a decent chunk of change every month.
Changes like this plus sticking to a budget help you keep more of your hard-earned money, putting all of your financial goals closer in reach.
7. Start Investing
While this isn’t the fastest way to make $800, if you want to create new income sources that are fully passive, investing is the right path.
You also have plenty of options here.
For many, investing in dividend-paying stocks with a commission-free broker like M1 Finance is an attractive path.
Dividend-paying stocks are ideal since you can reliably earn quarterly or annual dividend income (depending on when the company pays shareholders), gradually building up your dividend income.
You can also get started in real estate investing with companies like Fundrise.
Fundrise only requires $10 to start investing, and it’s designed to help you invest in a diversified portfolio at a low-cost and their team works to make you money while protecting your investment.
Again, if you want to make $800 quickly, investing won’t get you there.
However, for a more passive approach, this is the right route to pursue.
Start Investing In Real Estate With Fundrise!
8. Save Money While Getting Debt Free
Some credit card companies can charge up to 30% on your outstanding balance, which obviously takes a massive toll on your income.
So, if you want to make 800 dollars fast, clearing up some of this high-interest debt first is probably in your best interest.
However, this is easier said than done when you’re stuck in a cycle of interest charges.
Luckily, Tally can help you get free much faster, saving you money and building your credit score all at the same time.
Tally does this by essentially consolidating your credit card debts under a better interest rate, so you just have one manageable bill to tackle rather than several bills.
The platform charges a $300 annual fee, but this fee gets taken from the line of credit, so nothing ever comes out of your own pocket.
As you pay off your Tally line of credit, you free up more space on that line of credit, and you save money on interest payments in the process.
Learn more about how Tally can help you save money!
9. Sell Stuff You Own
Although this isn’t a consistent and reliable income stream, selling your stuff can definitely make you $800 fast.
Plus, there are plenty of apps and websites where you can sell just about anything, from clothing, shoes and accessories, to old furniture, cars, and office supplies.
Here are some of the best resale apps and sites to check out:
- Poshmark – Great for clothing, shoes, and handbags
- Mercari – List just about anything for free, including clothing, homewares, furniture, and more!
- eBay – Small listing fee but the most widely used platform
If you’re willing to put the time in, Poshmark can become a consistent side hustle.
Many people will thrift and flip clothing to curate their online store. You can easily build an audience and customer base, which will help you bring in consistent sales.
eBay or Mercari are better for one-time sales. You can pay additional fees on both platforms to have your items promoted, which may be a good idea if you’re trying to make $800 fast.
You can read our post on the best things to sell on Mercari if you want some ideas to get started!
In any case, do some spring cleaning and see if there’s some stuff you can quickly sell to make a few hundred dollars.
Extra Reading – How To Flip $500.
Final Thoughts
A lot of ideas out there for how to make 800 dollars fast tell you to do things like use GPT websites or play games for money.
However, the reality is that making $800 quickly takes some know-how; this is a pretty significant amount of money after all.
Finding a side hustle that works with your schedule or implementing tools to help you manage your budget are the best ways to increase your cash flow on a regular basis.
You may be in a pinch now, but if you take on one of the money saving/making tactics above, you should never find yourself in this situation again!
Whether you decide to focus on saving money, building a passive income stream, or picking up a side hustle– there is definitely a good option out there for you.
Best of luck on your quest to make 800 dollars fast!
Looking for more ideas to boost your income? Checkout:
Selena Fulham knows how valuable having a side hustle can be. She’s a freelance content writer with a focus on SaaS, B2B technology, social media, and the art of making money online. Currently based in Montreal, Quebec, Selena can usually be found either drinking coffee, hiking up a mountain, or snowboarding down it.