Money makes the world go around, and unfortunately, this is true in the Sims 4 world too. So, how to make money in Sims 4... without those helpful cheats we all know so well.
Money in Sims, known as Simoleons, can be a little hard to come by. You start the game with a pitiful amount. After selecting a place to move into and getting the basics needed for your Sim to survive, you're likely to end up with no money at all, if you can even get that far. Have you tried building a family house with §25,000?! It's near impossible!
When you've got your bank account up to speed, we recommend checking out our ranking of all the expansion packs, and if that's not enough, then there's the best mods to improve gameplay too!
How To Make Money
We'll go through some of the best ways of earning money without using cheats. Some of these can be in contrast with expansion pack careers, but only a couple. Base game players still have plenty of options!
Get A Job!
There are two main job types that you can choose from in the game: full-time jobs and part-time jobs. The full-time jobs tend to pay better, but you need to spend some time climbing the ranks of the career path to earn substantial Simoleons.
If you choose a part-time career it does pay less, but you can merge that with other ways of earning money. The best part-time career is the freelancer option - this can be as many hours as you want. Programming and writing both only require a computer, and Sims can get much better at the jobs very quickly.
Get Your Creativity Flowing
Creativity is a huge earning potential in Sims 4. Using an easel to paint pieces of art will not earn you substantial amounts of money instantly - but give it some time and it will surely pay off. The higher your skill level is, the more money your paintings will be worth. Paintings that are created while your Sim is feeling the effect of a particular emotion will always sell for a high price, too.
For those with the Nifty Knitting game pack, don't underestimate Knitting and Cross Stitch. The materials may cost what seems like a lot, but when you've got the hang of the knitting needles, the Simoleons will come flowing.
Write And Sell Books
As with paintings, the skill level you have for writing will determine how much money your books are worth. The more books you sell, the more royalties you will earn from them.
Your Sim doesn't need to be a prolific wordsmith; they could write a lot of books that are cheap, but because the royalties stack up, they could get a decent income from it.
Sell Crops And Animal Goods
Gardening is an easy skill for your Sim to pick up. Once they do, they can turn even the smallest patch of their land into a source of income. Again, as your Gardening skill improves, the quality of your crops will improve. Once you harvest them you can sell them and extremely high-quality or rare crops are profitable.
You can take this a step further with the Cottage Living pack and become a fully-fledged farmer. Though not a "legit" career path, gathering eggs and milking cows can turn a profit as long as you befriend the animals. There's also contests to enter to win prizes. And don't forget the bees too - honey farming can be a valuable source of income!
Learn The Music Skill And Perform Live
Your Sim can learn the Music skill, and once they reach a high enough level, they can take their talent outside. By setting up on the street outside a building or in a park, they can start a live performance.
If other Sims enjoy their music, they will give your Sim money! It won't give you a sudden influx of money but it's a good method to merge with a part-time job.
Become An Amateur Paleontologist
Wander around the neighborhood long enough and you'll see some odd rocks. These nodes are interactive and contain rare and valuable materials, like ore and fossils.
If you find one of these rocks, instruct your Sim to collect them. Once the rocks have been collected, you can break them open to reveal the fossils inside. They can be sold for a pretty good price, considering they were lying around on the ground!
Go Fish
Fishing is another skill that is worth improving. You can send your Sim fishing in various bodies of water and if their skill level is high enough, they can catch valuable species. You can quickly improve this skill by reading books to do with fishing or simply by making your character fish constantly. Be careful, this activity can wear down your Sim's energy quite quickly so monitor their needs closely. Once you have caught a few varieties of fish, you learn what ones are worth the most money and you'll know what to sell.
Win Stuff!
The Sims 4 added some pretty cool ways of ending up with extra stuff and extra cash. There's the lottery that comes with Seasons, which you could be lucky enough to win, and the previously mentioned contests in Cottage Living.
The City Living expansion adds festivals into the game too, which has competitions your Sims can enter. These often come with some sweet cash prizes!
Ask For Money?
Did you know, you can get money for free by just asking for it? Amazing, right?!
Grow your Sim's Charisma skill, and this option will become available to you. You can ask any Sim for a loan. The trick is, don't ever pay it back. You'll need to be level 7 of Charisma to ask for a loan, and at level 9, you can ask for an even bigger amount.
Marry Rich, Kill Them Off
In a typical Sim world, there is always a person or family that is extremely rich. You can find out if a Sim is rich by chatting with them by using the "get to know" option. Also, when you try to move your Sim to a new property, you can generally spy on how much is in the bank account of surrounding Sims. This method of earning money does take time and a little bit of cruelty. Embed yourself into that Sims life and romance them until they marry you. When you are married you can choose to merge households. This means that you can control the other Sim and the household funds are now combined.
Now, you could stay happily married and carry on with your life. However, if the other Sim irritates you and is not part of your plan for your character, you can kill them off. There are plenty of "accidents" that can happen to your marriage partner, including drowning or a sudden fire. Once the other Sim has been taken care of, your Sim will solely inherit all of the money and assets that they own.