Whether you have recently become unemployed, you are facing medical bills, or you are facing another unexpected situation, you might find you need a large sum of cash right away. Unfortunately, many financial emergencies catch people unaware, so it can be hard to come up with the funds you need. Still, there are some ways to get the money you need now.
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Liquidating Assets
If you have assets such as jewelry, clothing, or other items, you might consider selling them to get the funds you need. You can sell them on online platforms and collect the funds. You can often sell more recent electronic devices, such as laptops, phones, or tablets. And you might be able to sell media, such as games, DVDs, or books. And you can post these things on social media or place an ad in the paper. To make things easier, you could see if your family members and friends would be interested in taking these things off your hands. If you have a life insurance policy, you could consider selling that through a life settlement. That way, you can get the funds from that immediately. If you are considering going this route, you can review a guide on what an accelerated death benefit is before you get paid out from your policy.
Borrowing form Family and Friends
This should be one of the last resorts when you need cash in a hurry since it can place a huge strain on those relationships. It can cause some hard feelings between the two of you, especially if you are unable to pay them back very quickly. This alone might be a great reason to consider payday loans instead. You will have to determine if you value your relationship or the need for cash more. Unpaid loans might cause the two of you to have bad feelings that can linger. If you have to borrow from a family member or friend, you should create a contract that will state when you will pay them back and whether you will pay any interest on the funds. That is especially true if you will need to borrow a larger amount of money since it will take a longer period to repay a significantly sized loan.
Getting it From the Retirement Account
If you need a larger amount of money, you might decide to turn to your 401(k)account. Typically, people younger than 59 and a half will pay a penalty for taking the funds out early. Still, you might feel this is your only option, so it could be worthwhile. And sometimes, the penalty might be waived, so do your research to decide if this is the right option for you. For example, certain medical bills might be fine to pay with these funds. And some people affected by the pandemic were able to withdraw from that account as well. It might be better to borrow funds from the account instead of withdrawing them. And if you don’t have a 401(k), you could turn to your IRA account. The options are a bit more limited, but you can still take out some funds at a relatively low cost.