A fifth of adults would struggle to lay their hands on £100, while a third would have to dip into savings to cover household emergencies. This might explain why thousands of households are turning to expensive short-term loans in an attempt to keep up with debt repayments and pay bills.

Research by Moneysupermarket.com, the comparison website, shows that there has been a 130 per cent increase in applications for such loans since last August. So-called payday loans can be credited to a bank account within 24 hours, but they come with exorbitant interest rates. Borrowing £100 for 30 days costs £25 - an AER (annual equivalent rate) of 1,286 per cent.

Even consumers with the healthiest of incomes can get caught out occasionally, but there are cheaper ways to get hold of cash in a hurry. Here Times Money highlights some of the alternatives.

Phone a friend

As long as you do not ask too often, your nearest and dearest should be happy to help you out of a tight spot without charging hefty fees or a penny in interest. Tim Moss, head of loans at Moneysupermarket.com, says: “You should swallow your pride and ask parents or friends for money before considering the alternatives. Informal borrowing is the most common way that people get hold of cash quickly, and if your relatives are nice enough it should not cost you anything”.

Extend your overdraft

One of the easiest ways to borrow money is simply to extend the overdraft on your current account, provided that your bank will let you. If you ask only for a temporary extension and demonstrate that you can get back into the black quickly it should not be a problem. Michelle Slade, of Moneyfacts.co.uk, the financial website, says: “Most banks are happy to extend an overdraft short term, particularly if you have been a customer for a long time and it is only a one-off.”

Certain banks have more generous overdraft policies than others. Alliance & Leicester offers new customers a free overdraft for 12 months and then charges only 50p for each day you are overdrawn. Customers with a Coventry First account can run up an overdraft of up to £250 free of charge for the life of the account. “It won't hurt to ask, and banks would prefer you called to ask for an authorised overdraft than go into the red without warning,” Ms Slade adds.

Put it on plastic

Credit cards are generally an expensive way to take out cash, but the fees and interest can be cheaper than personal loans. The Co-operative Bank's Amnesty International fixed-rate credit card charges a 2.5 per cent fee, or a minimum of £3, for cash withdrawals, so a £200 withdrawal would cost £5. The interest then charged on the withdrawal is far lower than most credit cards, at 11.9 per cent.

However, be careful before using your existing card to get hold of cash. Most credit cards charge interest of between 25 per cent and 30 per cent on money withdrawn at an ATM, as well as a fee of at least 2.5 per cent.

Pawnbrokers

Your local pawnbroker will happily take many of your belongings in exchange for cash. Cash Converters, of West London, for example, offered Times Money £30 to £40 for an Apple iPod Nano MP3 player. It will hold items for 28 days before putting them on sale, giving you time to return and buy them back when you have the money.

You could also sell a few of your possessions on websites such as Gumtree.com and Craigslist.org. A dining room table and chairs are currently selling on Craigslist for £100.

Auction your belongings

Paul Hayes, an antiques expert who appears regularly on the BBC One programme Cash in the Attic, estimates that the average home has at least £500 worth of antiques that could be sold at auction.

The most overlooked items are paintings and oriental objects, says Mr Hayes. “As long as your painting has a signature, there is a good chance of getting a reasonable price for it at auction,” he says.

You can also offer almost anything for sale on eBay.co.uk, the popular auction website.

Rent out your belongings

If you do not want to part with your prized possessions for good, you could rent them instead. The website Zilok allows members to rent to fellow members anything from furniture to handbagsfor a fixed period. Dav8, for example, is advertising his digital SLR camera for £15 a day. CrazyRenter, meanwhile, is offering a stainless steel barbecue for £20 a day.

The website lists the location of available items, so members know where to collect them, and you can search by area. There is a listing fee of 10p a month and Zilok takes a small slice of the overall charge, but the rest of the money is yours. For more information, visit uk.zilok.com.

If you have space at home, you could also rent out a room. Under the Government's Rent a Room scheme you can earn up to £4,250 a year tax-free by letting space in your home. The website SpareRoom.co.uk allows users to advertise free for the first month, after which there is a small charge.

Case Study: Rental returns developing nicely

David Gutman, of Kentish Town, northwest London, signed up to Zilok, the peer-to-peer renting website, a month ago and has already earned cash by renting out his belongings to other members. The 27-year-old, left, collected £45 after he leased his Canon digital SLR camera to another member for three days.

There are a number of safeguards in place to make sure that users are protected and Mr Gutman says: “I was not worried about renting my camera to someone I didn't know. When he came to collect I asked for identification. He had already signed the standard contract on the website and also paid a deposit. It is very safe.”

Mr Gutman has also put his bicycle and a backpack on the site. “There are so many items in my flat that I rarely use. Living in London is very expensive so it is great to earn some extra money,” he says.

The only drawback at the moment is that there is a limited number of users because Zilok opened for business in the UK last month. But Mr Gutman does not believe this will be a problem for long, adding: “You can see from the number of items available that there are thousands of people joining all the time.”