Money, or Simoleons, as they are known in The Sims 4, can be vital to ensuring a productive life for your fictional family. Players are limited in building, decor, skill-building items, food, and more without it. While there are many cheats to get around this inconvenience quickly, some players may be looking to make money the way the game initially intended.
Unfortunately, making a significant amount of money without using cheats in Sims 4 is a much longer process. Some methods are common, such as getting a job or making money off a hobby, while others are a little less desirable, depending on your Sim, such as stealing, beachcombing, and digging for treasure.
Perform Music
Earn Tips By Singing or Playing An Instrument
One of the ways to earn a few extra Simoleons for free is to have a talented Sim perform for others. This can be done using any musical instrument, such as a piano, guitar, violin, or microphone. The main catch is that your Sim needs to do this in a public place where other Sims can stop and listen to them.
Since this method is entirely based on earning tips, your Sim won’t be able to make a living this way, but it will bring in a little spare change. A good place to perform is San Myshuno’s Waterside Warble, where a busking setup can be found near the food stalls.
Take Your Chances On The Lottery
Participate In The Lottery For A Shot At A Million Dollars
As part of the Seasons expansion for Sims 4, your Sim can choose to partake in the Lottery when it comes time for it. To enter, your Sim only needs to be a young adult with at least 100 Simoleons for a ticket. Tickets can be purchased via the computer or phone, and only one ticket per Sim is allowed.
Therefore, to increase your odds, your best bet is to have every eligible Sim purchase a ticket, especially since every other eligible Sim in town will also automatically be entering. The winner will receive a million-dollar payout, more than any single cheat code can provide.
Search The Beach For Shells
Beachcombing Can Be A Great Way To Find Valuable Shells To Sell
Beachcombing is an easy way to earn money. To do it, your Sim doesn’t even need a beach—just some sand. Simply click on the ground where there is sand, and your Sim should be prompted with two options: looking for seashells or trash. Select Look for Seashells, and your Sim should begin digging in the sand.
Watch out, as Beachcombing can sometimes give negative Moodlets to your Sims if they’re bitten by a crab.
This won’t make your Sim rich by any means, but doing it for a minute or two and selling the findings can reward a decent amount, making it a fast way to earn Simoleons in Sims 4. On rare occasions, your Sim may find a shell that is more valuable than any of the others.
Extort A Sim
A New Blackmail Option
One of the best ways to have fun in The Sims is to snoop around the lives of NPCs, even if it isn’t always the most moral approach. If you’re looking for even more fun (and even less morality), the logical next step is blackmail. Extorting other Sims is undeniably entertaining, and it’s also a great way to make some cash on the side.
Blackmail is possible with the For Rent expansion, but Royalty & Legacy doubles down with the new option to extort some high-ranking members of society. While keeping the secrets of nobles can curry favor, choosing to extort them instead is a quick ticket to growing your bank account.
Dig For Collectibles
Perhaps All The Money Your Sim Needs Is Right Under Their Feet
Similar to beachcombing, Sims can look for collectibles in Sims 4 by digging through the dirt to find different objects that can be sold. However, not just any patch of ground will do the job. Instead, Sims will need to find specific rocks or dirt mounds that prompt the option to do it.
They can be found scattered anywhere, but the park in Oasis Springs is one place to start looking. Watch out for capsules, however, as they have a set selling value while closed. Opening them may increase this value but could also lower it, so it’s your gamble.
Set Up Shop At The Flea Market
Get Rid Of Your Unwanted Goods By Selling Them To Others
They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that logic still applies in Sims 4. With the addition of the City Living expansion, your Sim now has the option to attend a flea market and participate in it. Though you’re not going to make a large amount of money, it is a nice way to sell some items you otherwise don’t need.
Furthermore, while it isn’t the same as necessarily making money, finding a great deal here is an excellent way to save money, which means more in your Sim’s pocket in the long run. Unfortunately, the flea market is not a daily occurrence, so you’ll need to store up some stuff until it rolls around.
Ask Other Sims For Money
Asking For Money Isn’t Always Desirable, But It Works
One way to acquire a decent amount of money, though a bit undesirable, is simply to ask for it. However, this method requires little work as Sims must have a relationship established for them to agree. Furthermore, to even have the option to ask for money, your Sim also needs to be at a Charisma level of 7.
However, don’t stop there, as you can ask for higher amounts of loans if your Sim has a higher Charisma stat. This means you can ask for several thousand dollar loans once your stat is fully maxed out. The best part about this method is it feels like a cheat because you have no obligation to pay it back.
Start A Little DIY Side Hustle
Sims Can Get Crafty And Make Some Homemade Goods For A Little Extra Cash
Primarily as part of various expansion packs, Sims can pick up some DIY hobbies to bring a little extra income their way. Some examples include making candles, woodworking, knitting, or even baking. Sims can even go as far as opening their own store or restaurant if they’re feeling fully prepared to take on a life of entrepreneurship.
However, opening your own business requires a bit more starting funds than a small hobby, so it’s best to stick with smaller DIY projects for now. Once you’ve saved up some by selling those, you can perhaps look into expanding into a full-fledged business if that interests you.
Become A Noble
Live The Life Of The Idle Rich
Sims careers are always a good way to make money, but unsurprisingly, they tend to require a lot of work. One of the best ways to live the life of the idle rich is to opt for the Noble career, added in the Royalty & Legacy expansion pack. True to the classical lifestyle of the actual nobility, this path allows Sims to rack up plenty of cash with minimal effort.
Sims Nobles will still have to participate in plenty of activities, to be clear, ranging from holding court to dealing with taxes. On the whole, however, it doesn’t suck the same amount of time from the day as careers where Sims disappear into rabbit holes for regular workdays. There’s also plenty of fun to be had along the way, like wearing crystal shoes to romantic balls and kissing frogs that turn into other nobles. Just take care not to lose any duels along the way.
Grow Your Own Garden
Sow Valuable Crops With A Green Thumb
Gardening is a great skill that can help your Sims earn money, as some of the crops they can grow sell for plenty of cash at local markets. Unlike the flea market, some crops sell with specific vendors at much higher prices, allowing you to accumulate profits that are a bit higher.
Dragonfruit are some of the most profitable plants to make, but you can’t grow them until you have the right seeds. Some of the shops in Henford might sell a Dragonfruit, but you may have to look into other options.
Your Sim needs to have a high enough Gardening skill to start growing the plants that sell the most. Like other tasks, this can be a tedious process to have your Sim watch, tend, and fertilize their crops to get them to grow. Thankfully, your Sims don’t have to be fully devoted to crop maintenance 24/7, and still do other money-making tasks while some harvests develop.