Time to get creative! If money is tight and you need to be able to get cash fast, then I have a useful list for you to use. The first step toward creating the right money habits is to bank a $1000 Emergency Fund. This is the first step that Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover recommends that you take. Establishing a baby emergency fund will do several things for you:

1. Some Peace of Mind - There is something refreshing about having at least $1000 set aside for any minor emergencies that might happen. Of course, $6000 makes you feel even better, but remember, this blog is dedicated to taking small steps on a directed path. Wouldn’t it be great to have a membership with an online bank and have $1000 or more for emergencies set aside? You have to get rid of those old habits in order to get ahead. We all have those annoying habits that we need to break so do not be to hard on yourself. While credit scores are important, the eventual goal would be to have the money set aside for emergencies. My credit used to be not so hot, but I paid off all my debt little by little and started using my emergency fund instead of a credit card. Emergency money can be used for many different things. These fast cash ideas will help. Ultimately, you will want to open a saving account and start becoming your own source of fast cash. Sure, you can always apply for a credit card and use it for emergancies, but ultimately, are you not digging into a deeper hole? The process to apply for credit is pretty simple but that is the trouble in most cases.

2. Stop Using Credit Cards – If you have a baby emergency fund in place then you will be less likely to pull out the credit card if the tire goes flat or the dishwasher stops working (and no, I am not referring to your wife!). You have to break habits that are taking you where you do not want to go.

3.  Sense of Accomplishment - It just plain feels good when you have actually made a smart choice with your money. So many of us have lived paycheck to paycheck way to long and even saving $1000 starts to create momentum in your life.

21 Ideas for Creating Fast Cash for an Emergency Fund

I have used many of these ideas below personally and believe that they can help you as well. Some are more profitable than others but each of them you can do from the comfort of your own home and at your computer. To get to $1000 quickly, just combine several of these together at the same time.

1. eBay – You would have to be living in a hole to not have heard of eBay. It is a global garage sale. You will be shocked at what people will buy on eBay. Do not be afraid to put just about anything out there because you will probably sell it.

2. Craigslist - is great for easy, local sales. It is also ideal for anything big that you do not want to ship like the extra freezer in the garage, the hot tub that no longer works, or the extra car that you want to sell.

3. Article Writer for Demand Studios – I love Demand Studios and believe that it is a great resource for fast cash. They will pay you by Paypal twice a week for any work that you have done. You do have to send in a sample writing but you do not have to be an experienced writer to get in the program. There are thousands of topics for you to choose from and most articles only need to be 350 to 500 words long. Most articles will pay $15 and can be written in about 30-45 minutes.

4. LiveWork – has various projects that you can work on at home on your time and your schedule. They will also pay by Paypal.

5. Yard Sale – Most of us know Yard Sales can make good money, but we just do not do it. Even if you only make $100 to $200 it is time well spent for a Saturday morning. Divide the money you make into the hours you worked and I bet you will be happy.

6.  Sell Your Books – Are you a book lover like me? While I agree that some books are keepers, there are still many others that you should sell and create some extra room in your house. Cash 4 Books does just that. You simply open a free account, collect all your books, and then type in the ISBN number which can be found on the back of the book. They will then tell you the amount that they will pay you for your books and then you can print off a shipping label so that your shipping is free. Doesn’t get any easier then that!

7. Trade in Your Gold – My wife had fun with this one. Got any old gold jewelry laying around? Well. you can trade it in for cash! My wife did this a few months ago and received over $350 and she was shocked. Her jewelry fit into a zip lock bag and it was old jewelry that she was no longer using anyway. Some of you might get your entire emergency fund from this idea.

8. Title Editor for Demand Studios – Another great position that you can work for Demand Studios. If you understand basic grammar, spelling and capitalization then you can do this job. I got on and dedicated some evening and night hours to it and made between $500-$700 in a week or two. The money is there to have if you can put the time into it.

9. ODesk.com – This is a great freelance website. There are all kinds of work that is being requested on this site. It is free to join and you can start bidding on projects to work today.

10. Become a ChaCha Guide – This is a neat little site. People text questions about weather, sports scores, politics, and entertainment. Meanwhile, the question comes to you on your computer, you go find the answer and then you get paid. The questions come in continuously if you are logged into the system.

11. Save Your Coins – This one may sound cheesy but you would be surprised. Take a jar and set it somewhere in your house and empty your pockets every night. The money will accumulate faster than you think!

12. Subvert and Profit - Great  little website that will pay you to vote for articles on various social media sites like Digg and Stumble Upon.

13. Word Gigs -  Simple writing projects that will pay you $2-$4 for every completed project.

14. Save 60% on Groceries -  Save money on groceries and then take the extra money and apply it to the emergency fund.

15. Save Money by Switching to Pre-paid Cell Phones – All of us spend way to much money on our cell phones if we were honest. We would never pay those prices for home phone service. Try switching to pre-paid and only pay for what you use.

16. Make money reviewing websites online UserTesting.com – cool website that will pay you for rating websites.

17. Guru.com – Another freelance website that has projects you can bid on.

18. Elance.com – One of the most popular websites for freelancers. There are projects that you can bid on that cover just about everything.

19. Scriptlance.com – Mostly designed for the “techies” among us but still many projects get posted on here daily.

20. TextBroker.com – another writing websites with thousands of topics to choose from. Just pick topics you have a passion for and get paid.

21. Additional Ideas look at workplacelikehome.com forums – I love this forum as it has tons of ideas on how to make extra cash online. Sign up for a free account and start looking around for even more ideas.