Here are seven ideas for small amounts of quick cash. If you haven’t done any of these in a couple of months, you might “find” some money you didn’t know you had.

None of these ideas will help you make a mortgage payment. However, by the time you run into problems paying the big bills, the chances are pretty good you have been already struggling with smaller expenses. It doesn’t take long for a small problem to compound into a bigger one as bills roll over from one pay cycle to the next.

These tactics also are LEGAL and won’t put your next paycheck at risk (in comparison to some of the tips I found on Internet searches … rolling eyes).

1. Take your Michigan returnable bottles and cans to the store. Every time I empty my family’s pop can bin, I get $3 to $5 back. I would prefer not to deal with can and bottle deposits in the first place, but since that is how the bottle laws work in Michigan, be sure to turn the bottles back in.
2. Review all the savings and checking accounts you have and see whether you can close one or two. Most banks require you to keep a certain amount of money in the account, or a certain number of transactions per year to keep it active, or you will be charged fees. If the need no longer exists for that account, take the cash out and close it. Interest rates are not very high these days anyway. If you want to separate Christmas money or vacation funds from your monthly expenses, consider building a spreadsheet in your computer to handle that accounting.
3. Collect the change in your penny jar, your vehicle ash tray, the weekend purse, etc., and turn it into cash flow. Some banks and credit unions have cash machines where customers can turn loose change into paper money for free, or at least for much less than you would pay at cash machines at the grocery stores.
4. If you have pending reimbursable expenses such as Flexible Spending Account receipts, mileage for work, postage or office supplies you bought for an organization, and merchandise rebates, turn in those receipts and get your cash. Some people like to bank those funds until the end of the year to help with Christmas expenses – but there’s no sense in waiting for the money if you need the cash now.
5. Check your frequent-flier and loyalty club card memberships to determine whether you are able to redeem those purchase points for free coffee, gas discounts, a gift card to the office supply store or any other item that can be put to practical and immediate use.
6. Place a classified or eBay ad for something that is likely to sell fast. You need to keep in mind what people actually will purchase second-hand even during tight economic times. For example, do you have maternity clothes or other stuff that is typically outgrown before it wears out? Do you have still-good tool sets, craft supplies and other items that appeal to frugal DIY folks? Do you have college textbooks from this spring that can go on the second-hand market? Tip for my local readers: Merchandise that is worth $125 or less qualifies for a free Bargain Buster ad in The Monroe Evening News and at monroenews.com.
7. Ask around your network of friends and relatives as to who might have handyman jobs, babysitting or commission work that you can do for them. Bartering services is also an option if it keeps you from spending cash on another needed service or product.