8 Creative Ways to Pay Rent When the Bank Account Is Near Zero

It’s one of life’s unavoidable expenses, and it doesn’t matter if you live in a small basement studio or a deluxe penthouse suite. Every single month, like clockwork, you’ve got to pay rent.

When you can’t make the rent, the situation can seem dire. But it doesn’t have to be.

There are tons of small, simple ways to put extra cash in your bank account so you don’t have to feel that panic at the first of every month.

1. Ask This Organization to Help You Out 

If you can’t make rent because of an emergency or some kind of unforeseen circumstance, look into applying for a grant — like Modest Needs grants, which are designed for workers just above the poverty line who are ineligible for most other forms of social assistance. 

It provides small grants to deserving, self-sufficient individuals who are usually capable of paying rent and other expenses, but can’t cover expenses for the month because of surprise costs, such as medical emergencies, a death in the family, loss of a job or a large utility bill. 

Modest Needs accepts applications from anyone in need, with a priority for people living alone, public school teachers and first responders. 

2. Earn up to $225 by Watching Videos Online

At first glance, you might not believe you can really get paid to watch videos on your computer. It’s too good to be true, right? 

But we’re serious. A website called InboxDollars will pay you to watch short video clips online. One minute you might watch someone bake brownies and the next you might get the latest updates on Kardashian drama. 

All you have to do is choose which videos you want to watch and answer a few quick questions about them afterward. Brands pay InboxDollars to get these videos in front of viewers, and it passes a cut onto you. 

InboxDollars won’t cover your full rent, but it’s possible to earn up to $225 per month watching these videos. Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards — so you can put the money directly toward rent. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million. 

It takes about one minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately earn a $5 bonus to get you started. 

3. Get Free Scratch-Off Tickets 

Because of the long odds, it’s not worth playing the lottery if you’ve got limited funds. (Your hard-earned money is better spent on food and shelter.) But what if you could get the tickets for free? If you won, you could pay for multiple months of rent…

Instead of going inside the convenience store, try scratching for free using an app called Lucktastic. Each day, it releases a new assortment of digital scratch-off tickets. Lucktastic says instant wins range from $1 to $10,000, in cash or gift cards to popular retailers. 

Wouldn’t you like to make your friends jealous by telling them the lottery paid your rent?

The app is supported by advertising, which allows it to keep the payouts high and the games free. For more info, check out Lucktastic here. 

4. Ask This Website to Help You Pay Your Credit Card Bill This Month

If you’re struggling to make rent, then your credit card balance probably isn’t looking so hot, either. So we found a company that’ll help you take care of it. 

The thing is, your credit card company is ripping you off with insane rates, and it’s getting rich off of you. But there are other, nicer companies that’ll help you out, including a website called Fiona.

Here’s how it works: Fiona will loan you up to $100,000 so you can cover your credit card tab. Use that loan to pay off your debt, then make monthly payments to repay the loan. It could lower your monthly payments and help you pay off that debt a lot faster. 

Plus, no credit card payment this month means money freed up for rent.

Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.

5. Cancel Your Car Insurance

When you’re struggling to pay rent, you’ll look everywhere to cut costs. It might feel like you’ve already done everything you can, but the truth is, one of the simplest expenses you can cut is car insurance.

A free website called Savvy will help you find the best rates — in just 30 seconds. In fact, it saves people an average of $826/year.

All you have to do is connect your current insurance, then Savvy will search hundreds of insurers for a better price on the same coverage. It’ll even help you cancel your old policy and get you a refund from your current insurer. Best yet: This is totally free.

If you find a better deal, you can switch right away and don’t have to wait for your next renewal or even your next payment.

6. Get Paid to Take a Poll

What did you think of the new Spiderman movie? Is a hot dog a sandwich? Who’s your favorite Real Housewife?

The research company MyPoints has paid people over $236 million to answer poll questions like that over the past 23 years.

And it’s currently recruiting new panelists. You can do it right on your phone, and you’ll even earn a $5 bonus when you sign up and complete your first five polls.

7. Ask for Help — Even If You’re Not Used to It 

Listen up: If you’re in a jam and you’ve really exhausted all your options, try calling a local resource line for help. There’s no shame in it at all. 

Start with 2-1-1, a confidential service offered through United Way that’ll help you find the resources you need to find affordable housing, make rent or pay utilities. It’s there for people like you. 

To use the service, head to 211.org, and enter your location. 

It’ll show you services in your community and give you a number to call. It’s a clearinghouse for help with food, housing, utilities and employment. If you’ve never asked for help before, that means you don’t know what kind of help is out there.

8. Earn up to $64/Hour With Your Own Business 

Do you dream of launching your own business? Where you could work from home and set your own flexible hours? This could be the ideal opportunity.

Not sure where to start? Look into bookkeeping. It’s the No. 1 most profitable business, according to an article in Inc. And you can earn up to $64 an hour. 

You don’t have to be an accountant or good at calculus to be successful at bookkeeping, either. As long as you’re motivated, a company called Bookkeeper Launch will teach you everything you need to know. It’s one of the leading training courses in the field, and it’ll even give you the first three classes for free. 

It’s helped thousands of people launch their own mini-businesses, including Daniel Honan, a military veteran in his early 30s. He never considered starting his own company, but he signed up for Bookkeeper Launch, and now he’s making around $50,000 a year keeping track of business expenses for his clients. 

It only took him three months to get started, taking one class a week. Oh, and he makes his own schedule and is able to spend more time with his wife than ever.

If you’re just a little curious, you just have to submit your email address here to take the first free classes.