If you've been recently laid off, you've hopefully updated your resume and started your job search. You should treat your job search as a full time job. Don't just sit around the house licking your wounds. Granted, applying for jobs isn't an immediate money maker. There are some things you can do to make some quick cash. They won't make you rich, but can help pay the bills. Here are some ideas.
Consider offering yard work services in your neighborhood. Charge what you think is fair. Offer distinct services. Some ideas would be trim the hedges, clean off the driveway, rake leaves. If you offer ala carte work, your more likely to land a quick job. Distribute flyers offering these ala carte jobs. If yard work is "beneath" you, team up with a teenager. You do the flyer distribution, take the phone calls and split the money with the teenager. Who knows, you may find this lucrative enough that you could expand it to other neighborhoods. Make a business of it and bring on a network of teenagers looking for spending cash.
Check with local businesses to see if they have a need for someone to distribute flyers. Offer to distribute their flyers for a price. Don't just stop with one company. Try to get a number of companies on board. Add you own flyers for the above yard work to the flyers you're distributing for other companies.
I had a retired friend who had time on his hands and needed some extra cash. He made pretty good money doing this. Find out what time newspaper delivery pickups are made at your local newspaper's printing plant. This will normally be 2:00 to 4:00 AM every morning. Starting around midnight, make some delicious hot sandwiches. Wrap them in heavy foil and pack them in cooler(s). Drive to the newspaper plant and let carriers know that you're offering fresh hot sandwiches for a reasonable price. This guy actually had carriers looking forward every morning to his fantastic sandwiches. Might be worth a try.
Consider becoming a newspaper carrier. Either residential newspaper delivery or delivery to stores and newspaper boxes. Many carriers hold full time jobs. It's a great way to supplement your job search. Show up at the plant and ask carriers how to apply. You may find immediate work.
Are you handy around the house? Check with local contractors and see if they have any need for day labor. Contractors are always looking for reliable workers. They're tough to come by. Contractors often times pay cash daily.
Sell stuff you have around the house you don't need. For the first week, list your items on your local Grisliest. Craigslist (craigslist.org) is a very popular, free classified advertising platform. You set your price and pay no commission when you make a sale. After about a week, list the items you haven't sold on ebay. Make sure you allow for worst case shipping costs and build the amount of shipping materials and labor into your shipping and handling costs.
Donate your blood to the local blood bank. If you weigh at least 110 pounds and are between the ages of 18 and 59, you can make $20 to $30 dollars each time to give blood. You can do this twice a week. many college students do this for extra money.
Visit car dealerships and ask how to apply to become a delivery driver. Most smaller cars are delivered to dealerships on larger car carriers, but some larger vehicles are driven to dealerships. These delivery drivers are generally paid $.35 a miles plus one way airfare. Some drivers actually make this a full time job. Drivers with a DUI record need not apply.
Are you good with dogs? You can make $10 to $15 an hour per dog to take them out for a walk. Distribute flyers around the neighborhood offering your services.
Are you good in the kitchen? become a personal chef. Many people just don't have the time to put together a good meal for the family. I personally know a couple of people who make a living doing this. There are a number of ways to do this. You may want one premium account where you actually cook the meal in the resident's kitchen. You may find customers who want you to cook in their kitchen 1 or 2 nights a week. Try to fill up you're week with a couple of customers. Or, you may find a customer who wants you 5 nights a week. You can supplement this service by pre-cooking meals in your own kitchen during the day and delivering the meals on your way to a premium customers home.