There are lots of things that you can do to save money or to “passively” earn extra money for things like Christmas gifts. But what if you need a lot of money right now? What if you only have days or, worse, hours to come up with a big lump sum of cash to get your family out of a bind? Here are some of the things that you can do:

What Can You Sell?

Even if you hate the idea of pawning stuff, it can be a great way to get cash quickly in the event of an emergency. Take a look around your house. Is there anything that you are confident you can buy back in a couple of weeks? Better, is there something that you can simply sell outright? Now’s the time to do it. Put it up on Craigslist—you’ll get emails and offers almost immediately. If it is something truly valuable, like a piece of jewelry, take it to an antiques dealer or appraiser to ensure you get a fair price.

What Can You Borrow?

If you’re facing a medical emergency, now is not the time to succumb to pride. Suck it up and get on the phone. Calling your friends and family and asking for small loans isn’t something that anybody wants to do. Still, the more help you can get from people who know and love you, the better off you will be. This is, obviously, a resource that is easy to exhaust, so only use it when you absolutely have to and you have no other options available.

Short Term Loans

If you have a steady job you can apply for a payday loan. Just make sure you go over the terms carefully before you sign on the dotted line. Payday loans charge an astronomical amount of interest and fees and if you can’t pay them back right away they can put you in a financial bind for months.

By that measure, it might be safer to get a car title loan—a loan against the title value of your car. You can usually get bigger loans against your car title. Just make sure you can pay it back according to the terms of your agreement, though, because if you don’t you could lose your car!

Emergency Loans

Some banks will have funds in place for families in your situation. The approval is quick and you can usually have the entire loan in hand within 24 hours of starting the application process. If you’ve got passable credit and a steady income, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not you can repay the loan. Even better—repaying the loan in full and according to the terms of your agreement actually helps you build your credit rating.

Extra Jobs

Walk through your neighborhood and ask your neighbors whether they have any work that you can do for pay. The benefit of walking through your own neighborhood is that the people there already know you so you’re more likely to get a good response after you tell them what’s going on. You’ll be surprised by the number of jobs people will have for you.

Get creative. The more creative you are, the more likely you will be to find the money you need as quickly as you need it. Good luck!

An article looking at whether the slow growth, rising inflation and mounting debt in European countries may be affecting the UK economy and its climb out of recession.
The Claim

The current UK government blames rising unemployment and the slow economic growth in the UK on the current Eurozone problems. Here we investigate that claim.

Growth forecasts for the UK economy have been consistently downgraded over the last two years. Having missed a triple dip recession and with current growth figures at around 1%, there is no good news coming soon for consumers in the way of new jobs and heavier pockets. The cost of the bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Cyprus have made everyone in the Eurozone very wary. UK analysts are watching what happens next with concern.
The Analysis

The UK government currently says the Eurozone is largely to blame for the rise in unemployment in its market because of the drop in exports to the region. UK exports may have indeed dropped to the EU, but it is still the UK’s biggest export market taking 50% of our exports, ahead of the USA and Japan.

Sluggish growth in the UK does predate the Eurozone crisis. Fewer exports to the EU started occurring pre crisis and while there has been a downturn this figure has not continued to go down year on year. Even after the drop the EU region still accounts for taking half of our exports. However the amount the UK is exporting globally has reduced and with the closures of many factory plants around the UK lots of jobs have been lost.

The issues in the Eurozone may well be affecting British confidence the most. The UK may not be part of the Eurozone but with so many exports going to this area then the investment in Euros is severely impacted.

Consumer spending continues to fall which shows that normal individuals like you and me are feeling the pinch of rising inflation and daily living costs. The rise in unemployment means more people are looking for work and are having to rely on state handouts to get by. Debts that were taken on while consumers were employed are struggling to be paid back. Low interest rates are helping but if your credit card payments or overdraft payments are only having the bare minimum paid off each month then the capital debt still remains. And it may continue to remain for quite some time if your own personal circumstances are unable to be changed. Don’t be afraid to look for professional debt management advice from the like of Consolidated Credit.
The Verdict

Slow growth and rising unemployment may well predate the Eurozone crisis but the crisis certainly isn’t helping the UK’s efforts to climb away from another recession.

Despite record breaking low interest rates, consumers continue to be hit by the rising cost of living and have less in their pockets to spend on the high street. This in turn means businesses aren’t making profits, so their prices are being put up, or they are being forced out of business. Either way there is a long climb ahead for the UK economy.

About the Author

Rosette is a freelance writer who writes regularly on consumer debt problems. Her advice is dont be afraid to look for professional debt management advice from the like of Consolidated Credit.