How to Get Rich Quick

Last Updated: February 12, 2023 References

Getting rich quickly usually requires taking substantial financial risk. Use your best judgment and do thorough research before embarking on high-risk endeavors like investments designed to provide a quick return. You can also focus on making money gradually through low-risk endeavors, or even acquire a bit of cash immediately using fool-proof, low-risk methods.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Making Extra Cash Easily

1
Rent out a room in your home. If you have an extra bedroom in your home and are willing to share your living space, temporarily renting out the space is a great way to make extra money. If renting for more than a week or two, draw up a lease agreement with your new tenant to help circumvent any disputes.
- Renting a room or your entire home to people on vacation is another way to increase your income. Websites like Airbnb will facilitate the renting process for a cut of the money that renters will pay.^{[1]
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- Make a profile about you and the available space on the Airbnb website, set a nightly price, and accept offers to rent the space based on an applicant’s profile and the dates they hope to stay.
- Be aware that laws in different states and cities treat short-term rentals differently. Familiarize yourself with the laws in your area.
2
Give up your extra parking spot. If you live in a big city where parking space is limited, consider renting out your driveway or garage. In big cities, especially cities that are growing, people are willing to pay large monthly sums of money to use your parking space.
- There are apps specifically designed to help you make money off of your parking spot! In most places it is legal to rent out your driveway, or even your reserved spot in a garage for various amounts of time. (Check about legality in your area.) Try out Monkey Parking, Just Park, and Spot – they each have different rules and specific criteria for use.^{[2]
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3
Sell the stuff you don’t use. If you have items of value lying around the house that you no longer need, consider selling them. Items with high resale value include unused furniture, clothes, shoes, bags, cars, bicycles, musical instruments, and other collectors' items.
- Postpone the yard sale. Though this might seem like the quickest way to sell your stuff, many of your items will likely go unsold, or will sell for less than they are worth at a yard sale.
- Sell your stuff online. Craigslist and OfferUp are essentially online versions of a yard sale. They require less effort and provide access to a larger audience, but they are still limited to a relatively local market.
- Use photos and descriptions to market your items online.
- Sell items on eBay. This will give you the highest probable sales price, in part because you’ll reach the largest audience. Further, potential buyers will bid on your item and potentially pay more than you had anticipated. Plus, payment and shipping are easier and more reliable than having to meet without someone to complete a sale.^{[3]
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4
Recycle scrap metal. If you have unused scrap metal lying around the house or garage, take it down to a metals recycler to make some cash. Look for unused steel, brass, copper, aluminum, and iron.
- Common items to recycle include old car parts, toasters, plumbing fixtures, beverage cans, and metal construction debris - the heavier, the better, as you’ll be paid by weight.
- Different metal recycling centers have different rates and may only purchase certain kinds of metal. Make a few calls to find the business that will pay you the most.^{[4]
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5
Donate eggs, sperm, or plasma. Healthy men between the ages of 18 and 35 may be eligible candidates to sell sperm. Healthy women between 20 and 30 can also make substantial amounts of money selling eggs.
- Prepare to be interviewed and screened thoroughly, for either sperm or egg donation. Physical fitness, medical conditions, and lifestyle all greatly affect your ability to donate.
- Donating sperm is perhaps the easiest of these options, though the process does require a blood test. Sperm banks will generally pay $35-$50 per specimen, though facilities will not pay you until a second blood test following your sperm donation comes back clean.^{[5]
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- Donating eggs is a serious endeavor that involves a substantial medical procedure and will likely also include a strict regimen of supplementation and behavior preceding donation. The process will last several months, and there are emotional and physical risks involved, as well as a recovery period following each donation. Women are usually paid several thousand dollars per donation, and can donate multiple times.^{[6]
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- Sell your plasma. If you are in good health, then you may be eligible to sell your plasma for some quick cash. There are much less strict requirement to be able to sell your plasma, though you still have to meet certain criteria. Plasma donations are usually met with a $20-$50 dollar return, and first-time donors usually get an added bonus!^{[7]
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6
Find short, easy, or enjoyable part-time jobs. There are plenty of ways to make an extra buck on the side. Babysitting, dog walking, and house cleaning are all great ways to make cash in a short period of time. Reach out to friends, family, and neighbors to see if they are looking for any sort of help.
- Even better, harness the time and energy you spend on one of your hobbies by trying to turn a profit doing what you love. If you play an instrument, join a house band with consistent gigs at local venues, or contact recording studios to tell them you’re available for recordings.
7
Return things you don't need. If you have recently purchased items that you don't need, and if they are still in good condition, then return them to the store you bought them from. This is a great way to make cash back instantly.
- Note that different stores have different return policies. You may need to return the items with the tags still attached and/or with a receipt. Some stores only offer store credit rather than cash.
8
Sell tickets. Scalping involves buying tickets to a concert or sporting event and then reselling them in order to make a profit. Use caution with this method, though; while it is usually legal to resell tickets at face value, scalping laws vary from state to state. Some even allow you to sell tickets at whatever price you can.
- Scalping works best at sold-out events. While the quality of the seat matters, potential buyers will likely be able to find tickets for less than face value if the event is not sold out.
- Make a profit by acquiring tickets at lower than face value, so you can sell them for the face value and still make a profit.
- Use StubHub to find and sell tickets. StubHub is especially helpful in facilitating payment and shipping, and provides information regarding the legality of the transactions you’re considering. Craigslist is another great option for acquiring and selling tickets too.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Leveraging the Money You Already Have

1
Flip houses. House flipping involves buying a house at a low price, renovating it, and then immediately selling it and making a profit off of the renovations. The key to this process is speed; most investors try to renovate and put the house back on the market within six months.^{[8]
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- Look to buy run-down houses in up-and-coming neighborhoods. This will allow you to buy as low as possible and sell as high as possible.
- Monitor the housing market to ensure that you’re buying and selling houses at times that are especially financially beneficial. For instance, when the supply of housing properties is higher than the demand, look to buy homes, and look to sell properties when demand is higher than the supply. This will help you spend less on initial investments and make more profit on higher sales.^{[9]
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2
Try leveraged trading. Leverage maximizes both the potential gains and the potential losses of an investment by essentially multiplying the value of your investment.^{[10]
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Research source} As such, it is a very high-risk method of making money, so it's important to make informed choices about where and how to invest.
- Most traders are limited by the amount of cash they have on hand. Leveraged trading, by contrast, allows investors to borrow money for an investment so that they can operate with more money than they have personally.
3
Spend less. No matter how much money you make, you will never feel like you have enough unless you learn how to properly manage it. The key is to learn to differentiate between what you need, what will actually improve your life, and what is unnecessary or frivolous.
- Check your bank statements often to keep track of where and how you spend your money. It is especially important to keep track of small expenditures that you make on a daily basis, as these can add up quickly.
- Cutting $10 out of your daily expenses can add up to roughly $10,000 in savings in just three years!
4
Maximize savings. While not quite a “get rich quick” approach, the more you save means the more you make on interest – especially if you save long-term. A wise savings strategy can wind up adding significantly to your savings account and has a higher chance of making you rich than anything else in this article.
- The miracle of compounding interest provides the most reliable way to steadily increase your savings. Contributing even small amounts to long-term savings accounts such as IRAs (individual retirement accounts) each year will lead to exponential returns later in life.
- While interest accrued in IRAs can add up to substantial amounts, there are higher return opportunities on extremely safe stock options that consistently provide income to investors.^{[11]
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  Research source} You can even keep stock holdings in your IRA plan to increase the principal you have in the account and accrue even greater interest.
- Take care when deciding on any type of investment-based savings strategy beyond a simple savings account. There is risk in all types of investment, including stocks. That said, diversifying the holdings in your savings strategy is wise. Some of the largest corporations in the world steadily return double what the best IRAs offer.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Acquiring a Fortune by Chance

1
Win the lottery. This requires, of course, an incredible amount of luck. The lottery is a low-risk, high-reward method for striking it rich, though the odds of winning are close to zero. Somebody has to win, though, so it's not totally impossible. Never expect to win the lotto, but if you do, it may make you rich.
- Every lottery works differently; some sell instant-win, scratch-off tickets while others ask you to guess a set of winning numbers to be revealed later.
- Scratch-off games usually yield a smaller jackpot than numbered-ticket lotteries.
2
Gamble. If you can afford the potential losses, gambling is one of the easiest ways to make large sums of money quickly. Gambling is legal under US federal law, but it is restricted in most states to certain locations and other specifications.
- To minimize your losses, gamble on things that are not based entirely on luck. Learn and practice games that require skill and strategic knowledge. For instance, blackjack and poker depend on other players' decision-making (as well as chance). By improving your understanding of certain games, you can increase your chances of winning.
- Casinos will sometimes even host entirely skill-based competitions that charge an entry fee to participants and pay out huge amounts to the winner. For example, casinos have even held basketball free throw contests!^{[12]
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- You will never be able to win the majority of gambling games, as the odds are against you, but you can know when you have a favorable position, and when it makes sense to increase your bets or cut your losses.
- Gamble on sporting events or horse races where you can apply some background knowledge to help determine the most likely outcome.
- If you have a problem with compulsive gambling, don’t hesitate to reach out for free help.^{[13]
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3
Make a viral video. If all else fails, YouTube videos are incredibly easy and cheap to make. If it goes viral, a simple video can generate lots of money. The key to creating a viral video is to post content that is unique and attention-grabbing.
- Make a YouTube account and decide on your preferred method of compensation, which is derived from the advertisements that are shown alongside your videos.
- Keep the video short, as long videos are less likely to capture peoples' attention and go viral.
- Common themes for viral videos include animals doing funny or unusual things, athletes performing amazing stunts, and people saying or doing funny or embarrassing things.
- If you’re lucky, you can find other people attempting to film viral videos, and you can film them. Your video will likely end up being more humorous!

Expert Q&A

Question

How to invest if you want to retire early?

Andrew Lokenauth
Finance Executive
Andrew Lokenauth is a Finance Executive who has over 15 years of experience working on Wall St. and in Tech & Start-ups. Andrew helps management teams translate their financials into actionable business decisions. He has held positions at Goldman Sachs, Citi, and JPMorgan Asset Management. He is the founder of Fluent in Finance, a firm that provides resources to help others learn to build wealth, understand the importance of investing, create a healthy budget, strategize debt pay-off, develop a retirement roadmap, and create a personalized investing plan. His insights have been quoted in Forbes, TIME, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Yahoo Finance, BankRate, and U.S. News. Andrew has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (BBA), Accounting and Finance from Pace University.

Andrew Lokenauth

Finance Executive

Expert Answer

The key to retiring early is watching and investing as much as you can in your retirement plan, but also getting your jobmatch. If your job matches your 401 K, you get 100% of you getting that, and that's free money.
Question

Can a barber become rich?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Yes, almost anyone with a steady income can become rich if they invest at least ten percent of their money over a period of many years.
Question

Can someone who owns a cafe be rich?

Tom De Backer

Top Answerer

Yes. Owning a cafe can be bitterly fickle, with no patrons for days or weeks, but bills continuing endlessly. But many cafe owners who put in the work and effort can indeed make a very good amount of money.