Raising cash in a hurry #3: Scalp some tickets

Update May 2009: Major league baseball attendance is off almost 5% this year, which demonstrates an important rule of recession scalping: snap up the hot tickets and leave the rest. Make a bad choice and you could end up eating the ticket instead of a steak.

So you're broke, and you need money, and it suddenly occurs to you that you are sitting on concert tickets to High School Musical: The Ice Show, or Hannah Montana. If the water dept. is threatening to cut you off for non-payment, scalping those tickets could save you from a dirty, smelly fate.

In circumstances such as this, a rational person will consider scalping the tickets to recoup their investment, or perhaps even realize some profit. However, proceed with caution. While it is generally legal to resell tickets for what you paid for them or less, some states frown on selling them for more. Check you state laws for scalping restrictions.

You could go the Internet route to sell your ducats, on sites such as StubHub.com. If you're thinking of selling them on eBay, you can fill out a form to learn if your state allows or disallows it by clicking here.