Game guide:Earning simoleons
How To Earn Simoleons
Simoleons are the unit of currency in The Sims series games. A Sim family must have them in order to buy anything.
The usual way to earn Simoleons is to find a job- look in the paper or on the computer to begin earning. But what if a job just isn’t enough? What if children prevent parents from going to work? What if working just isn’t your Sims’ thing? When that happens, it’s time to look for other ways to get the money you need.
Creative Moneymakers
If your Sim is good in the creative field, perhaps they should become an artist or a novelist.
To become an artist, all you need is an easel. This is a good job because it raises your Sim's Fun meter, and builds Creativity[TS1][TS2] or Painting[TS3] skill while painting. Once a painting is completed, it can be sold. In The Sims, what paintings sell for is strictly related to the Creativity skill of the painter; a painting done by a Sim with maxed Creativity will sell for §166. In The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, what paintings sell for is somewhat variable, but a skilled painter can regularly receive upwards of §350 for a single painting. The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 also allow completed paintings to be picked up and hung on the wall. If the painting is hung on the wall for a long time, it often goes up in value, and therefore can be sold for more money.
To become a novelist in The Sims 2, a Sim must have a computer - the cheapest computer sells for §1000. Then, your Sim can write a novel. This takes awhile, and the Fun meter will decrease while writing, but writing a novel builds Creativity. (The blue bar over the Sim's head shows progress in building Creativity, not in writing the novel.) Once completed, a novel can sell for between §1000 and §3000, depending on its quality.
In The Sims, if the woodworking or gargoyle carving bench is owned, a Sim can make garden gnomes or gargoyles (respectively), which can then be sold in buy mode. Early on, you will get little money (say §3-4 for your first creation). However, as the Sim works, his or her Mechanical skill will increase. The higher the Mechanical skill of the maker the more each gnome or gargoyle will be worth, to a maximum of §100 with a skill level of 10, and speed also increases. This does take a lot out of a Sim, especially comfort and energy early on, and social after a few days (since little time is left for socializing if most of the day is used on crafts) but a Sim with 10 mechanical can make §1000-1500 in one day.
In The Sims 2 Open for Business, items made on the workbenches can be sold off the bench, or in Buy mode.
Career Reward Objects
This section describes features that are only available in The Sims 2.
After unlocking the Culinary or Science career track rewards, a Sim may pursue a new job as a chocolatier or as a medicine manufacturer, respectively. But watch out- it is possible to contract a mysterious disease from the Simsanto Inc. Biotech Station. If Seasons is installed, a Sim can make money using the career rewards for the Gamer and Law career tracks.
Simoleons in the Outdoors
With the Seasons expansion pack, it is possible to become a gardener or a fisherman without ever leaving the home.
To become a gardener, one must either buy orchard trees (for between §1000 and §2000 each) or buy garden plots and plant seeds in them. After raising and tending your plant/tree, the fruits or vegetables it bears can then be sold. But watch out- overspraying of a plant or tree could cause your Sim to become a PlantSim.
To become a fisherman, just put in a pond (it must be deep enough), click on it, and select Fish With Worm. As time progresses, your Sim will earn new talent badges, allowing them to catch bigger and better fish that earn more money.
BOOT- §15
LARGEMOUTH BASS- §33
JUMBO LARGEMOUTH BASS- §61
BLUE CATFISH- §49
JUMBO BLUE CATFISH- §124
RAINBOW TROUT- §87
JUMBO RAINBOW TROUT- §221
GOLDEN TROUT- §518
This may not seem like much money, but if a Sim spends time catching fish and earning Talent Badges, large amounts of money can be earned- I’ve earned §6795 in one day with one Sim before.
Cooking for Cash
In The Sims: Makin' Magic, it's possible to make money by cooking. There are several items that can allow this, some of which are more feasible as a sole income than others.
The home canning table allow sims to make preserves, while the oven allows Sims to bake cakes and pies. Neither of these sells for much money, but they can put a few extra simoleons in the family account. It is also possible to churn and sell butter, and to keep bees to harvest wax and honey. Except for baking, all of these activities also increase the cooking skill.
If the A Pressing Feeling nectar press is owned, sims may create nectar from grapes, berries, honey, and sugar. For a sim with high cooking skill, nectar can sell for hundreds of simoleons a batch, allowing for a substantial income (rivaling the highest paying career track jobs). Further, this can be combined with gardening, in that sims can raise their own grapes and elderberries, even their own honey bees, leaving sugar as the only ingredient that must be bought.
Cash In The Cosmos
Another way to earn money is by stargazing- if your Sim is lucky, he or she will find an undiscovered star and be awarded §500 by the Sim City Astronomy Club.[TS2:FT][TS2:AL] But watch out- stargaze too long and you may get abducted, leading to unwanted alien pregnancies in any male Sim.
Dollars For Dating?
After going on a great date or a Dream date with an NPC (not playable character), your Sim might get a present left by their door from their date-sometimes flowers, sometimes large items such as telescopes, pool tables, karaoke machines, or Electro Dance Spheres. These can be sold for big bucks.
Marrying a Rich Sim
This is just what it sounds like- rich Sims will bring plenty of money to the family.
Getting Dead Rich
After a Sim dies of old age, they often will leave behind money for their friends and relatives. Obviously, this does not apply to The Sims.
If You're Lucky
If child Sims have A+ grades, their 'relatives' will occasionally give them §100.[TS].
If your teen Sim has a high Body skill, they may make the football team while accidentally throwing a chair across the classroom and get some money from it
If you get robbed and the burglar is caught, you will get §1000[TS] or §500[TS2] for helping to catch him. In The Sims, you may get reimbursed for an item the burglar was about to steal, even if he was caught before he was able to take it.
Cheating
The Sims (unpatched)
Enter cheat mode:
type: ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C
type:klapaucius
Notes: Household receives §1,000
The Sims (patched)
Enter cheat mode:
type: ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C
type:rosebud
Notes: Household receives §1,000
The Sims 2 & The Sims 3
Enter cheat mode:
type: ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C
type:kaching
Notes: Household receives §1,000
The Sims 2 & The Sims 3
Enter cheat mode:
type: ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C
type:motherlode
Notes: Household receives §50,000
The Sims 2 Nightlife & The Sims 3
Enter cheat mode:
type: ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C
type:familyfunds [household] [amount]
Notes: Assigns money value to a family from the neighborhood level. In The Sims 3, testingcheatsenabled must be activated first.
The Sims has no equivalent to motherlode.
Disclaimer
Originally written by Katxopixie