There are certain situations where finances don’t align with the individual’s present and future goals. The reasons for the same can be job loss, unexpectedly high medical bills, natural disasters, etc. In such a situation, it becomes challenging to find a solution. And what if an emergency strikes the door?
If you can relate well to the situation, then you aren’t alone.
About 6 out of 10 people experience this situation once a year, and 1/3rd of them do not have savings at all.
And because of this, 40% of individuals find it challenging to pass through an emergency phase leading to depression and other grave issues.
Thus, what to do if you need immediate cash?
What type of Emergency is it?
How to arrange for money when an emergency strikes? Do you have an emergency fund? No?
Then here is what you can do:
Define the type of emergency you are undergoing through:
- How much money do you need? (Is it a medical emergency or a sudden house repair?)
- duration of the emergency (decide whether you need funds for a short-term, one-time emergency, or a long-recurring one)
- Access whether the income sources are intact
The first thing, in this case, is to evaluate:
- Cash in hand
- Savings in the account
Since money in the savings account earns less interest, it is a sane thing to use this amount first to meet your emergency expenses; instead of staking your precious assets. But, if you have drained that too, then here are some tips you can undertake to have immediate cash in case of emergency.
7 Tips To Come Up with Cash During Emergencies
Here are some ways to raise money without hurting your finances or credit score:
1) Liquidate your Assets
Does the corner of your jewellery box hold the Rolex watch that you hardly wear now? Almost every household has access to gold as jewellery. You can leverage this opportunity to sell your assets at a promising price. However, before doing that, research the ideal vendor and enquire about the sum he is providing and align it with market rates.
Here are some reasons gold is a good option for instant cash:
- It doesn’t entail long paperwork
- No income proof is required
- Gold is a “secured loan”, and hence banks charge less interest compared to other personal loans
- The flexibility of repayment options
You may also make fast cash by selling electronics like televisions, smartphones, earphones, headphones, home theatre, game consoles on different marketplaces online. Or you can post the selling ad on Craigslist, Facebook, or Twitter. Depending on the condition of the gadgets, you can get a decent amount by selling electronic items.
2) Apply for a second job
Sometimes the fastest way to generate cash is by getting a second job- a well-paid one. Decide whether you are comfortable working at late hours after your one shift finishes. Working part-time and full-time, you can earn up to £300000 a year! It all depends on your skill-set and how you leverage that for taking multiple jobs and excelling at them.
With having access to the internet, one can work from anywhere. You can even take up freelance work at Starbucks! It is all about how creative you can be at the workplace. Creativity pays off well. A regular income can help you rationalize your dreams of looking for soft search car finance and owning one, eventually.
It is all about thinking outside the box!
3) Leverage Your 401(k)-Retirement Account
It is the lender of last resort. It means to leverage this tip only when nothing works out for you. If you have saved enough for an emergency or retirement account, you can withdraw some cash from that. However, you may be penalized for that.
Well, you can be waved off that penalty in certain conditions, for example, when you reimburse medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of your gross income. You may withdraw from your 401(k) account a particular sum in this case.
In the reverse situation, if you don’t have a 401(k) account but have an IRA account, it could also help you get the funds you are seeking. Especially if it is a Roth IRA. With a traditional IRA, your options are limited. Thus, you can borrow an amount from these accounts to meet your emergency cash requirements.
WARNING: Use this in exceptional circumstances only because you could buy yourself more trouble down the road if you wipe out all your retirement fund savings.
4) Donate Plasma
Well, this is one of the extreme options we are moving to. Plasma is a valuable resource used for a multitude of treatments and research. Once you donate your blood, it is recycled through specialized treatments that separate plasma from the blood.
Your plasma is then collected in a container, while other body fluids are safely transferred back to your body. Well, how much you make depends on a variety of factors. The more you weigh, the more plasma you can donate. The amount of money the regular donors receive and the new donors vary a bit.
5) Organize a Garage Sale
However, this might seem like a lot of handwork, from cleaning the garage to painting it to reflect a clean look, but it can help you get a good sum. If you have a garage that you debunked long ago, you can use it to your gain.
For getting quick buyers, you can place and market the ad on Craigslist, Facebook, or newspaper, and church bulletins and put-up neon signs in the mid-way for the people to notice it and bring in as many people as you can.
6) Ask for help from the employer
When such a situation strikes, corporates share the flexibility and provision to extend benefits to employees. An advance salary is something that your employer provides an employee to assist him in the hour of difficulty.
It is advance pay that your employer provides before salary day. Ensure a good working ethic during these times. Before taking the sum home, make sure that the employer has given it to you in writing with an attested signature.
7) Overdraft Facility from bank
If it is short-term money requirements, breaking FDs or Fixed Deposits isn’t ideal. Instead, you can leverage the Over Draft facility from your bank. It is a kind of pre-approved loan.
In this, the account holder may withdraw a sum more than what he/she has in the account. In this way, the approved money can be withdrawn at the time of need. The interest is levied on the borrowed amount only.
How much overdraft sum you can withdraw depends entirely on your bank balance, credit histories like pending guaranteed car finance for bad credit repayments, and collateral value.
Therefore, this is how you can get sure money quickly at the time of an emergency. However, you may not be lucky every time, emergencies may strike doors anytime, and hence you should be well-prepared to encounter the situation.
These tips can help secure money quickly and reduce your tension. Besides these, you can also seek personal loans quickly to meet an emergency requirement.
