The Best (and Worst) Ways to Raise Fast Cash

11. Borrow From Strangers

Pros: If you have good credit, you might get a lower rate with a person-to-person loan -- via such websites as Prosper.com, LendingClub.com and Zopa.com -- than with an unsecured bank loan.

At Prosper, the average rate for borrowers with a score higher than 720 is 9.4%; you post a loan request and set the maximum rate you're willing to pay, then lenders bid on it. Lending Club assigns grades based on your credit history and other factors and offers rates of 7.4% to 19% depending on your grade.

Cons: If your credit score isn't tip-top - 720 or better - forget it: The interest rate you'll pay will be downright ugly. At Prosper, for example, if your score is between 600 and 719, you would have paid an average of 16.5% recently; below 600, 35%. The lending sites also charge fees of 0.5% to 2%. And the amount you can borrow is capped, typically at $25,000.

12. Tap Your IRA

Pros: If you're younger than 591/2 and you've had the Individual Retirement Account for more than five years, you may be able to make a penalty-free withdrawal to pay for certain things (such as a home or medical expenses).

To see if you qualify, go to irs.gov and search for Publication 590. Also, there's a little-known provision that allows you to withdraw money from an IRA so long as you roll it over into a new IRA or redeposit it in the same account within 60 days.

Cons: You'll lose the potential for investment gains, just as you do when you borrow from a 401(k). You can take advantage of the 60-day window only once a year. And if the money doesn't find its way back into an IRA within 60 days, you'll owe taxes and a bruising 10% penalty if you're younger than 591/2, warns Miami financial planner Ellen R. Siegel.

13. Do a Reverse Mortgage

Pros: You get the money up front, but the interest is deferred until you move out. The main advantage: "It's not like a 401(k) in the sense that once you tap it the asset is gone," says Sam Collins, a mortgage banker in Newark, Del. "You can do a reverse mortgage and still continue to enjoy your home."

Cons: You have to be 62 or older to qualify. And the amount of equity you can pull out of your home is far less than with a traditional mortgage. For example, an 80-year-old Chicagoan with a house worth $400,000 would be able to borrow only $195,222.

The younger you are, the less you can borrow because it will be longer until the loan is paid back. So a 65-year-old in the same situation would get only $159,187. And reverse mortgages carry stiff fees, nearly three times as much as those on a traditional mortgage. Up to 8% of the loan, or $12,735 in our example, vanishes up front.

14. Sell Some Hard Assets

Pros: We're not talking about toting your Beanie Baby collection to the nearest eBay selling service. If you have tangible assets worth more than, say, $5,000 - for example, artwork, antique furniture or gold jewelry - you might be able to liquidate them via a large auction house such as Christie's or Sotheby's. Just e-mail photos and a description, and they'll give you an estimate of what your pieces could sell for and whether they're interested.

Cons: Certain parts of the art and antiques market have been hit hard by the poor economy, reducing the value of your assets. Paintings by well-known artists have continued to appreciate, but prices of furniture and other antiques have fallen as much as 40% in the past year or so. Auctioneers will charge a flat commission of about 10% to 20% of a $10,000 sale. What's more, you may owe a collectibles tax of 28% on any profits.

15. Take a Cash Advance on Your Credit Card

Pros: You get the money fast.

Cons: The costs are huge. For starters, you'll pay a fee of up to 4% of the advance. If you don't pay it off in full at the end of the month, interest rates of 20% to 30% will kick in.

16. Liquidate Your 401(k) or 403(b) Account

Pros: Well, it's money.

Cons: You can cash out only if you're leaving your job or the plan is getting dissolved. Assuming you're younger than 591/2, you'll fork over a 10% penalty to the IRS, plus get whacked for the taxes due on all earnings and pretax contributions. If you're in the 25% bracket, that means 35% of whatever you had in the plan will vanish. If there are state taxes too, you could lose 50% of what you'd saved, according to Michael Eisenberg, a C.P.A. and president of Eisenberg Financial Advisors in Los Angeles. Bottom line, he says: "You'd need to be desperate to do this."

17. Go to a Payday Lender

Pros: None

Cons: Annualized interest ranges from 200% to 500%. Are you out of your mind?

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