• Everyone has been in a situation where a dire financial emergency unexpectedly arises. Whether you've lost your job or you need some quick cash to finance auto repairs, there are ways to raise money. Exploring your options for raising money will help you decide which method works best for your specific needs and talents.
  
  

Surveys

• Many companies will pay you to take surveys online. This helps these companies research relevant markets for their products and the products of their customers. Depending on where you go to do this you can make between $1 and $7 per survey as of September 2010, with surveys taking between five minutes and half-an-hour to complete.
  
  

Home Business

• You can raise money by starting a business from home to make extra cash in your spare time. There are a number of services people in your neighborhood may need, from walking dogs to window washing to landscaping. Think about what talents you have, then consider which of these can fit a need in the marketplace.
  
  

Selling Clutter

• Nearly everyone has things lying around the house that no longer get used. Whether it's your ever-growing collection of clothes you never wear or antiques that would perhaps be more loved somewhere else, take a look at the things you own with an eye for what has resale value. Online auction sites allow you to cut out the middle man with a minimum of legwork. There are also consignment shops and the old standby of the garage sale.
  
  

Photography

• You don't need to be a wizard behind the camera to sell photographs. However, you do need to possess some level of competency. The point here is to take pictures of things that people want pictures of. Think of pictures that you see on websites and in newspaper and magazine articles. Then think about what you can add to this marketplace. There are websites that allow you to post photographs and you get paid every time one gets sold. This provides an opportunity for people to earn extra cash while also dipping their toe in the dream of being a photographer.
  
  

Make Things

• For those who can bake, knit, sew or build things, there is a ready-made means for earning extra money. Whatever it is that you have skills to create can be sold at a profit. Think of ways to get your material on the cheap, such as repurposing things found in a thrift store. The flannel shirts that cost a dollar-a-pound can be remade into something truly remarkable, bounded only by your imagination.