I know this is going to come as a shock to some people and for others, it is simply a reality.

The “average” middle class American stated they would have to sell something in order to come up with $2,000 cash.

So, my goal today is to come up with some ideas and start a conversation on this topic:

“If you had to come up with $2,000 cash, what would you do?”

First I would like to look at the problem. Being from Canada, we face many of the same problems that Americans do in terms of debt, overspending, and our inert ability to buy stuff that we do not need.

Although our hardships are typically delayed and follow the US economy by a couple of years, we do feel it. When the US unemployment drops to all time lows, you can pretty much rest assured that ours is going to drop drastically too. I mean, the US is 50% of our trade... I guess you could say we are reliant although we are focusing on trade with emerging countries and China.

I feel fortunate that I am in a position that if I needed $2,000, I would go to my bank. Ask me this 8 years back when I was attending school, you would be lucky to get $2 out of my bank account.

In fact, I was so low on cash that the bank was taking money from ME! How the hell do you owe a bank money?!?

Anyways, working first hand with 1,000’s of people over the years through Wealthy Affiliate and talking with people that are close to me (friends and family) that don’t have a lot of money, the fact of the matter is that we all like to spend and we often times are spending money that is not ours.

Where exactly is the dire need for cash stemming from?

(1) Credit Card Debt

All of us have it. What a great feeling it is getting “reward points” for going into debt. Dealing with online transactions on a daily basis I can tell you first-hand that the amount of maxed out credit cards has never been this high.

The reason is that people don’t have disposable income so they are relying on their credit cards as their monetary source. This has a downward spiral effect. Once you get into CC debt, it can be a tough road out, in particular when you are paying up to 25% interest.

The unfortunate part is that credit cards drive the economy. When people can no longer spend, guess what happens? People stop spending, companies suffer because of it and people get laid off.

(2) Health Care

If you are rich in the US, you have excellent healthcare. Probably some of the best in the world. I will never argue that as I have had to make a trip to the hospital in the US, and it was a pleasant experience.

However, if you don’t have money, cannot afford health care, or are living on a shoestring budget, needing health care can put an absolute strain on your pocket book, in many cases lead to bankruptcy (so I have read). To me, this is not right and high health care costs are the reason many Americans cannot come up with $2000.

I am from Canada and I hope I can give you some insight from someone who isn’t covered. Yes, I am not covered. How much do I pay?

I pay exactly $55 per month. This covers everything. God forbid something happens to me, I get help. If I need to go to the doctor or I need surgery, it is all covered. There are waiting lines if your surgery is non-critical, but if you need it now you get it now.

$55/mth...and if you are under income assistance you do not need this. There are things like extended health care that I could pay for (about $300 per month) that cover all medications as well, but prescriptions are fairly inexpensive up here.

Like the US, most large companies offer benefits (which include full health coverage including paying for prescription and dental along with other things like massage, physio etc.).

I don’t want to go into any more detail here or get too political, but I just wanted to state that if we had to pay health care costs that people in the US did, there would be a much larger lower to middle class within Canada. I think the UK has a similar system as we do.

(3) Unemployment

With employment rates all over the world surging or staying flat, this is taking its tol on people’s bank accounts. It is causing people to dip into their savings, causing hardship for people that are trying to get by, and for families with children, this is becoming an urgent issue.

Here is some data on unemployment rates across the world (source: Trading Economics):

France: 9.7% India: 9.4% United States: 9.1% U.K.: 7.7% Canada 7.4% Germany: 7% Australia: 4.9% Japan: 4.7% China: 4.1%

There are 100’s of millions of people unemployed right now, many of these people are very skilled and could be an asset to a company.

You may be unemployed when you are reading this...

However, I think we all need to understand something:

There is opportunity out there...in particular on the Internet. Almost everyone has access to the Internet and ANYONE can leverage the opportunity on the Internet!

How I think I can help....

The Internet has truly leveled the playing field in a way that we never thought could be imaginable. I mean, Facebook is allowing people to take out entire governments!!

Why can’t it do the same for people looking to earn some extra money?

It can and it will if you are willing to work at it.

So what are some top ways to do this without having any seed money?

I mean, is it really possible to start a business from scratch online?

YES. YESSS!

It is possible. Looking back (at an entirely different Internet), I started out online with a budget of $5 and my girlfriend’s credit card. How lame is that? Well, at the time I was able to make a go of it by being smart, being relevant, and working my butt off. That was in 2002, and well things have changed since...

But here is the cool part. Things have changed for the better. You can now achieve success without a dollar in your pocket, let alone $2,000 to spare.

How do you do it though?

Through your passion. Through your knowledge. Through your skill set.

Everyone knows something about something.

What was your last job? What is your hobby? What is your favorite thing to write about? What blogs do you visit regularly?

OK, write a list down. You are off to a great start.

Now you have to be willing to write about this passion. In the same way I am writing this article, you will be able to do the exact same thing. You will simply be writing about what you love... your passion, and then submitting this content to a free authoring site, like this very site you are on...

Street Articles

What you do is this...

(1) Register for a free account (2) Write and submit an article (3) Within your article, link naturally to a site that you own (could be a free site like Weebly) (4) On your site, promote an affiliate program (5) Repeat

As you write more articles, they will get ranked within the search engines. This will equate to traffic, which in turn will lead to people visiting your website (free or paid). From there you can earn money via affiliate programs, advertising, etc.

It does take some time to write articles, but if you can write and submit just one article per day to Street Articles, you will be ahead of the game.

Remember, you are going to be writing about things that you enjoy writing and talking about, so it should be very natural. You will also get sent training advice and tips once you register to Street Articles, and this will definitely give you a ton of insight on how to properly author content for the greatest benefit.

Lots of other potential ideas...

I do have a ton of other ideas on how you can earn money without having a lot, and this is what we teach at Wealthy Affiliate.

People often times don’t realize that an Internet business, although it takes a ton of hard work and dedication, requires next to nothing in terms of set-up.

For example, building a website may seem like an technical and expensive task. Did you know that there are free mediums to build websites now, and if you want your very own URL (domain name), it is only $7 per year! Now that is some cheap real estate that is only going to continue going up.

Once you have a website, the sky is the limit. There is unlimited potential!

Don’t sell a kidney, SERIOUSLY!

I am not sure if you read or saw the story about the Chinese boy that actually sold his kidney to get an iPad 2, but this is pure craziness. If you asked this person after he got his iPad if it was worth it, I can guarantee they would say NO.

I know this case was a bit extreme, but when people need money, they do some very strange things.

Please do not go to this extreme. Use your existing skills, knowledge and passion and apply them online. Whether you are interested in heavy duty mechanics or designing scrapbooks, selling homemade soap, or eating organic. Your passion can be turned into a business online.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear it. What would it take for you to come up with $2,000 cash and what are you going to do about your existing situation?

To your happiness and success!