Gold is selling for about $900 an ounce these days. Many are now selling their gold jewelry to fatten their wallets. You should get at least two price quotes from dealers.
"Gold is really cash today, and it's a substantial amount of cash," said Andrew Fabrikant, Fabrikant Fine Diamonds.
"Steer clear of these gold parties. It's something that's become very popular. Basically, it's like a tupperware party," said Kelli Grant, Smartmoney.com.
Everyone brings their gold jewelry to a party and you have a buyer there to give you cash for your gold.
"And really these are just bad deals because you don't have the opportunity to shop around and see if you get a better price for it," said Kelli Grant, Smartmoney.com.
Websites like Prosper.com are another way to get cash fast. Other consumers basically loan you the money at a rate of about six percent on the loan. That's much less than an interest rate on a credit card.
Most lenders are now capping equity lines of credit at 80 percent of a home's value minus its mortgage balance.
