How to quickly raise cash to bridge the gap

IMAGINE the stash of money you’ve set aside for surprises such as health emergencies and impulse purchases dries up, but you need cash as soon as possible.

Don’t panic, because there are plenty of other ways to bridge the gap.

“The first port-of-call would typically be a credit card,” said Yanir Yakutiel, the founder and chief executive of lending hub Lumi.

“Given existing facilities, that is a reasonable way to act with money quickly – especially if you’re able to repay the money very, very quickly, because a credit card is a very expensive form of money.”

However, understand that cash advances on credit cards often attract fees and you will start being charged interest immediately.

Mr Yakutiel said another form of funding was the platforms supported by the growing alternative personal loan network.

“Ratesetter is one of them,” he said. “SocietyOne is another – these are for people that are marginally outside the bank’s lending appetite.

“I think that they are good options if it serves a purpose. Debt should be used to smooth out the fluctuations in income or for large, lumpy purchases.”

Other products exist at the margins, including buy now, pay later options such as Afterpay and Zip Pay that fund small-ticket items over a tight timeframe.

“That’s for teenage girls – they want to buy 100 bucks of make-up, but you can’t buy a car,” Mr Yakutiel said.

The founder of the financial education company SkilledSmart, Paridhi Jain, said people should reduce their financial commitments by figuring out where their cash was going and identify savings opportunities.

“Most people have no idea where their money goes,” she said. Audit old, recurring payments you perhaps forgot to cancel – a subscription to a gym or cloud storage service – because cuts create more space in the budget.

“While this might not be sexy, it works,” said Ms Jain, who also advised selling stuff through Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.

“Do a spring clean and sell what you can get rid of.”

Also check your pockets. Travel Money Oz general Manager Scott McCullough said there was more than $2 billion of “could-be” cash in Aussie back pockets.

“Many Australians are unaware of the unused foreign currency lying dormant around their house,” he said.

People return home from an overseas holiday with an average of $184 in unused currency, Mr McCullough said.

“$US66 in unused American restaurant tips could get you around $92 today; 500,000 Colombian peso could buy you a cool $177, and that leftover 659,250 rupiah from your Balinese break could get you around $55,” he said.

Other ways to raise some quick revenue include selling an old mobile phone, or asking a family member for a loan.

‘Do a spring clean and sell what you can get rid of’ PARIDHI JAIN