Working your primary job doesn’t always cut it when it comes to making ends meet. Sometimes you need extra money and you need it now.
Applying to another job that will take weeks to pay you is out of the question.
Your best bet is to find under the table jobs that pay cash on the spot, or at least find gig apps that let you work and get paid daily.
You’re not alone.
According to a recent Bankrate survey, many Americans are adding part-time gigs to their regular income to combat the rising cost of living expenses.
People are simply underpaid, overworked and fighting an uphill battle when it comes to unprecedented inflation.
I get it. I’ve been there and it’s not fun.
It’s one of the reasons I started this affiliate blog in 2020. It started off as a side hustle to earn extra money, but quickly turned into a full-time paying gig.
If you want to try it out for yourself, then feel free to take this free affiliate blog training to get started!
Gig Apps that Pay Daily Cash
Before I dive into this list of jobs that pay cash on the spot, I wanted to share gig apps I’ve used for jobs that pay daily cash.
It’s a fast way to make money and get paid today.
I’ve also included another app I use that earns me $20 – $50 daily cash. It’s my favorite app to earn money without having to do any work!
Observa
Observa is a gig app that pays you daily, generally within 24 hours, for completing small tasks. Much of the work includes doing shelf inventory of products at grocery stores and retail stores.
Some of the work I’ve completed with the Observa app include: KIND bar merchandising audits, snapping pictures of in-store product advertisements and occasionally doing mystery shopper work.
At one point, I was even earning $40 per hour with the higher paying gig jobs, but the pay has since changed. It’s still a good app that pays daily cash via PayPal.
Download the Observa app.
Field Agent
The Field Agent app is similar to Observa, but much better in my opinion.
Types of small gig work you can reserve include: Product Audits, In-App Surveys, Buy & Try Mystery Shops, and more. Gig work typically takes 5 – 15 minutes to complete and pay is anywhere between $3 to $20 per job.
You can cash out daily to your bank account once you reach a minimum of $3, which is fairly easy to do.
I’ve been using the app for a few years to make extra money, and to-date have earned just over $3,700 with Field Agent.
Read more in my Field Agent app review.
Ibotta
Ibotta is not a gig app.
Technically, it’s a cash back grocery savings app. Yet, I’ve been using it mainly as a side hustle app to earn between $20 – $50 per day.
I do this by referring others to Ibotta via their refer and earn program.
The app will pay you $10 for anyone you refer to Ibotta that downloads the free app and scans their first receipt. Your referral will also earn a $5 cash reward.
At times, I’ve considered standing outside my local grocery store just to tell people about the free money they’ll earn by downloading Ibotta. I haven’t done that just yet, but I’m not going to say it hasn’t crossed my mind!
Ibotta allows you to cash out daily to your PayPal or bank account once you reach a minimum of $20, which is essentially 2 Ibotta referrals.
Read my complete Ibotta review.
Jobs that Pay Cash on the Spot
- Craigslist
- Clean Houses
- Dog Sitter
- Scrap Metal
- Flip Items
- Snow Removal
- Local SEO Services
- Photographer
- Meetup Event Organizer
- Mow the Lawn
- Sell Crafts
- Paint
- Personal Assistant
Now let’s take a closer look at these under the table jobs that pay cash on the spot when you need money fast!
Craigslist
Whether you’re looking to make extra cash to pay for bills, or just want to save money for your rainy day fund, then Craigslist is a good place to start.
The classified ad website offers some of the best under the table jobs that can be done in your after hours or on days you’re not working your regular job.
If you don’t mind doing minor labor work or household duties, then the ‘services’ section within Craigslist is a good place to search for jobs that pay cash.
There you’ll find some of the most random jobs ranging from quick yard work to help moving heavy boxes.
A few years back when I moved into my Boston high rise apartment, I posted a job to Craigslist for help hanging portraits and frames on the wall.
I offered to pay $60 cash for what I thought would be a couple of hours worth of work. It ended up taking the guy 45 minutes to hang all my artwork. He made out pretty well I would say!
Clean Houses
This may not sound like the most glamorous work, but cleaning houses can pay fairly well. According to the home services website Angi, house cleaners charge between $30 – $50 per hour, depending on your experience.
Other things that factor into how much you earn include size of the house and depth of cleaning to be done.
Basic cleaning services such as dusting and tidying up around the house generally will pay less money versus a deep house cleaning.
This is one of the many cash jobs on the side my mom used to do when she first arrived to the United States.
Most of her clients were found through co-workers and friends who were aware of her house cleaning services.
This type of word of mouth advertising can quickly bring in plenty of referral work to book out your entire weekend.
Dog Sitter
It’s estimated that nearly 69 million U.S. households have companion dogs in the home.
That means there’s a good chance someone in your neighborhood owns a dog and may need dog sitting services at some point in the future!
If you’re great with dogs and love spending time with them, then it may be worthwhile to consider becoming a dog sitter in your area.
Your neighbors may also be more open to hiring you if they are familiar with seeing you around the neighborhood and know you live close by.
If you’re curious to know how much to charge, then one quick hack is to call a few local competitors and pose as a customer to get their rates.
Once you have a general idea of how much professional pet sitters charge, you can set your rate slightly lower to get your first few clients.
Then, post some flyers around your area and get ready to get paid to play with your new furry friends!
Scrap Metal
Scrap Metal for money ranks darn close to the top for best paying jobs that pay cash on the spot.
If you have a truck and enjoy going on scavenger hunts, then this could be the best side hustle job for you!
Driving around and picking up curbside metals discarded on the street or left behind on trash collection day can be a lucrative way to spend your free time.
One good haul of scrap metal to local recycling centers can net you $100 – $500 depending on the metal.
Here are just some examples of scrap metal you can recycle for cash:
- Washers + Dryers
- Old plumbing (drains, faucets, pipes and wiring)
- Refrigerators + Freezers
- Auto Parts
- Aluminum Cans
For current national scrap metal prices, a good resource to check is the iScrap app website.
Flip Items
Have unwanted clothes or random items around the house you no longer use?
There is a way to turn your unwanted items into cold hard cash, and one way is by selling it locally on the Facebook Marketplace.
It’s free to sell on Facebook Marketplace and you’ll pay no fees to list items for sale.
Better yet, if you really want to knock it out of the park and make more money, then you can flip clearance bought items for a profit.
If you’re a bargain shopper like me, then this is where your savvy shopping skills can really earn you a nice payday!
In my case, I used to rummage through the clearance aisles of Walmart and Target and flip these products on Amazon for extra cash.
(Nowadays, I get paid to review products on Amazon!)
The same can be done with Facebook Marketplace. You set the price and ask for cash on the spot for the items sold.
Learn How to Build a Profitable Affiliate Website
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Snow Removal
Depending on what part of the country you live, this next job may or may not be an option for you. Here in Boston, we get A LOT of snow during the winter time.
Sometimes it can be a couple of inches, whereas other times the snowfall can be well over a foot!
In those instances, the backbreaking job of shoveling out one’s driveway and sidewalk can be a real pain in the you know what!
That’s typically the time where homeowners are nearly begging for your help, and they are willing to pay a hefty price for it.
My mom is one such person who’s always in need of snow shoveling help for her large driveway and front sidewalk.
As an elder woman, it’s not a job she should be doing on her own.
On heavy snow days, my mom’s neighbor’s son comes over with the snowblower to help shovel her out. He never asks for money.
However, my mom always pays him $50 cash as a thank you for the work done.
Likewise, there are many elderly and non-elderly people in need of real help when there’s a major snowstorm.
Typically, these snow removal service jobs can pay anywhere from $30 – $100 per job.
When the next snowstorm hits, walk around your neighborhood with a shovel or snowblower, and pick up this work for quick on the spot cash!
Local SEO Services
This next job has the potential to pay out handsomely and it only takes about 2 hours to do.
Local small businesses in your area generally lack the know how for properly setting up their Google Business profiles online.
These listings are important because it helps small businesses get found by their potential customers. So the increased visibility is really important to help these businesses thrive.
There are a few keys parts to having an optimized Google Business Profile.
But once it’s properly set up, it’s mainly just managing the profile to make sure it stays relevant on Google and remains discoverable by customers.
In general, these local SEO jobs can earn you between $200 – $600 per month, if you decide to manage the Google Business profile on an on-going basis.
Otherwise, you can always help a business owner set up a profile and simply charge a one-time fee for your services.
The best part is that anyone can learn how to do this in one hour with this free Local SEO course.
By evening time, you can make your way to your local neighborhood businesses and nab your first client!
Photographer
If your friends are constantly complimenting you on how great you are at taking photos, then this one side hustle job may suit you well!
These days, you don’t need to be a professional photographer in order to make money with pictures.
There are plenty of websites that will pay you for your photos, including these next few sites below.
- Clickasnap
- Shutterstock
- iStock
- 123RF
- EyeEm
With ClickASnap you’ll get paid just for people viewing your photo, which is pretty impressive. Maybe now’s a good time to download all those beautiful scenery pictures you took during your last vacation and make money with them!
But hey, if you want to get paid right now for your photography skills, then one way to go about it is to join local FB groups and post about your services there.
Meetup Event Organizer
Are you an outgoing social person?
If so, then there’s a good chance you can make a great deal of money by organizing a fun social gathering!
The Meetup community building platform is an ideal place to bring a group of people together and earn extra money in the process.
One way in which you can generate income is by organizing an event where you charge people a fee to attend.
Some people do this by offering beer brewery tours, city walking tours, or teaching an in-person class such as how to make money with TikTok videos.
These events are also a fun way to expand your circle and network with other like minded individuals on something that interests you!
Mow the Lawn
Mowing the lawn is pretty boring, not to mention there are tons of companies out there already offering these services.
So how do you stand out from the crowd and book a full day's worth of lawn mowing jobs that pay cash on the spot?
The answer: You offer lawn mowing design services.
When you acquire grass cutting skills that incorporate learning how to make fancy lawn designs, people will come to YOU begging for your services!
And when that’s the case, you’ll have the upper hand for how much to charge for your awesome lawn mowing designs.
It’s free to learn this skill. Simply go to YouTube for lawn cutting tutorials, and start practicing on your lawn or offer your services for free to start!
Sell Crafts
Not too long ago, I mentioned to my friend that I was having a hard time finding the perfect winter hat for my mom.
My mom loves her current hat but it’s noticeably worn out and needs to be changed.
She’s been on the hunt for a suitable replacement, but nothing seems to be the perfect fit to her exact style. (she's quite picky!)
That’s when my friend brought up that her mom may be able to crochet the perfect winter hat for her.
It would be loose enough and to the dimensions and color I specified. It was the ideal situation, plus my friend’s mom would make some extra cash from it!
I also have another friend who makes personalized glasses, mugs and t-shirts on a Cricut machine. She does wedding t-shirts, novelty items and gets plenty of orders simply from word-of-mouth.
All of this is to say that money can be made on the spot by offering friends, family, and co-workers handmade arts and crafts.
Personalized gifts put a unique touch to gift giving and many people, including myself, buy these types of memorable gifts.
Paint
Many years ago during my senior year of college, I joined an entrepreneurial internship called College Works Painting.
The entire premise of the internship was to start and grow a local painting business in a matter of 9 months.
I was 20 years old at the time, and I managed to book $68,000 worth of house painting jobs for the summer.
The program showed us the in’s and out’s of how to paint a house, how to hire painters, keep track of expenses, and make a profit.
If I could do all this at 20 years old, then you can do this at whatever age you’re at now!
Now you don’t need to book out entire houses to paint. You can offer to paint your neighbor’s deck, or maybe the walls inside their living room. That’s some of the simplest things to paint and very easy to learn how to do.
When I booked these painting jobs, I would go to a neighborhood and knock on doors of houses where I noticed peeling paint.
I would give the homeowner an estimate on the spot and if they accepted my proposal, then I would come back and paint the area. It worked like a charm!
Personal Assistant
The title ‘Personal Assistant’ sounds super fancy, but it doesn’t need to be that way.
Many families who have small children are crunched for time and can use a helping hand to get things done.
This can be tasks such as grabbing the dry cleaning, taking the kids to school, doing grocery shopping, or even helping them book a much needed family vacation!
Similarly, busy entrepreneurs tend to have busy schedules that leave them with little room for taking care of more personal things.
These people are prime individuals who look for personal assistants to help them out.
Forums such as Craigslist are just one way to find these individuals.
Although, you may find faster success attending a few local business networking events where you’re bound to find someone in need of a personal assistant!
If you prefer doing online personal assistant work, then consider becoming a Pinterest virtual assistant.
Bloggers, affiliate marketers and other types of business owners are always in need of online marketing help to push their business forward!
Final Thoughts
These various under the table jobs that pay cash on the spot are a great way to make extra money today, especially if you find yourself in a tight spot.
But did you know that there are ways to get free money fast without having to do any work whatsoever?
I recently discovered this new money hack, and so far it’s earned me over $1,300 in free money! It's sign up bonus offers and there are plenty of them out there!
I complied a list of companies that will give you $25 or more simply to try out their product or service. Definitely check them out if you need money right now.
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