How To Make Money In The Sims 4 Legacy Challenge

When you first start a new save file in The Sims 4 there are a number of options for making Simoleons that don’t involve using cheats. When first starting a Legacy Challenge these options are even more important as you will not be able to use cheats at all. So let me show you all of the ways that I recommend how to make money in The Sims 4 and The Legacy Challenge.

I will only be listing methods that have a low cost of entry as Legacy founders are working with a very limited budget! (i.e. no Performing with a violin/guitar, no content creation/streaming etc.)

Odd Jobs

That first day in your new save file can be a rough one. Especially since, if you choose to do the standard career route, most jobs careers don’t start until the next day. That’s where Odd Jobs come in. Odd jobs are tasks and jobs that you can take to help other neighborhood Sims out for money. Some don’t pay very well, but if you look through all of them, you can sometimes find a great pay option. Keep in mind though that some require skills, so your Sim will not be able to take those if they don’t have the necessary skills to do them.

Pros

• Can start the job instantly
• If your Sim does a good job, the hiring Sim can tip them additional Simoleons
• Your Sim is not locked into a schedule and can take a new Odd Job whenever Odd Jobs are available

Cons

• Some odd jobs require skills that your new Sim won’t have
• Not all odd jobs pay very well
• Odd Jobs are only available at certain times of the day

Digging For Collectibles & Frogs

Digging for collectibles/searching for frogs has been a staple of early money making in The Sims 4 since its launch in 2014. For a while, it was only of the only options to make money in the game. While it is no longer the only option, it does still do a pretty good job of getting those early Simoleons.

Pros

• can dig/search for frogs in virtually every Sims neighborhood
• can sometimes find treasure maps which will allow you to “Dig For Treasure” to possibly sell an item for more money

Cons

• not all items sell very well
• you can breed frogs so that you have more frogs to sell, but there is a cooldown

Writing Novels

Writing novels is probably one of my all-time favorite ways to make money in The Sims 4. I’ve used the book writing method several times over the years, even as my Sim’s sole source of income and it can be incredibly lucrative over time. While it may not start out earning very much, once your Sims skill in writing increases and they can write other genres of books, they will be raking in the Simoleons.

Pros

• money is earned daily through royalties
• can become incredibly lucrative as time goes on
• free to start as you can use library computers
• fame will be gained as you sell novels
• will skill up as you write
• can gain social if writing at the public library. Your Sim will talk to others while they write.

Cons

• starts off a bit slow on income generation

Beachcombing

If you have The Sims 4 Island Living then you have access to beachcombing. Beachcombing allows your Sims to find seashells and other trinkets while digging in the sand. Some items can be worth quite a lot when you sell them, though other times you end up with just moodlets or worse, nothing at all.

Pros

• some items can sell for quite a lot
• can give positive moodlets

Cons

• requires Island Living
• can give negative moodlets
• sometimes your Sim won’t find anything

Knitting

Simmers that have The Sims 4 Nifty Knitting can have their Sims earn money by knitting items and then selling them on Plopsy (The Sims 4 version of Etsy). With a higher knitting skill, Sims can knit some pretty cool items that can sell for quite a lot on Plopsy.

Pros

• fairly inexpensive to start as it only requires a yarn bag to be purchased
• items can sell for quite a bit more than what it costs to make them

Cons

• knitting takes a while to do, so the time requirement is a factor to consider if you want to earn money more quickly
• knitted items MUST be sold on Plopsy and it sometimes takes a while to get a sale
• requires the Nifty Knitting pack to use

Fishing

Fishing has been around since The Sims 4 first released and is free to start up. Just find a body of water with a “Fishing” sign nearby and get to casting your line!

Pros

• free to start, you do not need to buy a fishing pole
• can be done in almost any neighborhood that has a body of water

Cons

• your Sims won’t earn a ton of money to start
• you will not always catch fish
• fish can rot if you leave them in your inventory for too long

Painting

Painting, like writing, is another favorite money earner for me. While your Sim won’t start out earning a ton of money, it can overtime become very lucrative, especially once your Sims can start painting masterpieces. The only downside early on is that it requires a minimum of §50 to start and you may not earn that back right away.

Pros

• Has the potential to earn a lot of money, especially once your Sim can paint masterpieces
• You don’t need to buy an easel for your Sim as you can have them paint at the museums

Cons

• Does not earn royalties like writing does. Your Sim earns a one time payment for their paintings.
• When first starting out, your Sim will end up losing money selling their paintings until they skill up
• Costs a minimum of §50 to paint a picture

Photography

Surprisingly enough, Photography is actually a relatively easy hobby to get into in The Sims 4. The reason for this is that every Sim has a smartphone to start and can take pictures on it. Which means that you sell all photos that you take without putting money into it. If you go this route, you may want to eventually have your Sim get a better quality camera as it can increase the selling value, but starting out with a smartphone is definitely ok!

Pros

• can use your Sim’s smartphone to start and take pictures for free
• can take multiple photos at once to increase how much money your Sim makes
• can earn fame by selling photos to a publication

Cons

• photos don’t sell super well early on
• can take a while to increase the photography skill

Gardening

Gardening is another great option to earn money early in a new Sims 4 save. It’s especially nice since you can get seeds/plants for free by harvesting wild plants. While the starter seeds don’t earn a ton of money early on, you will end up selling multiples which will add up. As your gardening skill increases your Sim will get the option to splice plants which will give them more rare seeds to plant and sell for a larger profit.

Pros

• can plant any fruits, veggies, flowers, or herbs that you find in the wild for free
• most plants can produce multiple plants per harvest which will further increase your income
• Having home grown produce can help lower your food bills

Cons

• you may not make a ton of money early on, but once your Sim gets splicing your profits will increase
• plants can take a long time to grow

Careers

Finally, let’s discuss the most obvious way to make money early in your Sims 4 save… careers! You can do a career search as soon as your Sim moves onto their new lot. Careers will give your Sim a promotion for good performance and many pay very well in later tiers.

Pros

• no requirements to join any career
• promotions will give your Sim the chance to earn quite a lot of money
• your Sims can receive raises for good work performance
• some careers let your Sim work from home

Cons

• Most careers don’t start their first work day until the day after your Sim moves in which means they can’t start earning money right away
• some careers can become very difficult to reach a promotion in later on depending on the requirements
• some careers have your Sim off the lot for quite a while preventing you from being able to directly control them

My Recommendations

• I personally prefer writing, painting, or getting into a career for your Sim’s main source of income
• Supplement this income by gathering collectibles, gardening, beachcombing, etc
• Try to avoid the hobbies that have a larger cost of entry (either a time or money cost) at first (content creation, performing, writing music etc). You can absolutely use these hobbies for income later when your Sim can afford to start them.