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    Am I the only one?

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    NicoleamoralNicoleamoral Posts: 977 Member
    in The Sims 3 General Discussion
    Am I the only one finding it hard to make money? I know there is a cheat but I kind of don't want to cheat. But both my Sims have jobs but between the maid coming (if she doesn't they always get negative moodlets for the house being a mess!), the repairman, and just living I find that they really don't make much at all. They are progressing through their careers too...so I dunno. Any one else or is it just me?

    I use Swagbucks to earn gift cards to pay for my Sims games! B)
    swagbucks.com/refer/NicM87

    Comments

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      MarkusReeseMarkusReese Posts: 5 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Income while solo does seem slower til you get near the top of the career pathways it seems.
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      janellelynnejanellelynne Posts: 402 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Nicoleamoral wrote:
      Am I the only one finding it hard to make money? I know there is a cheat but I kind of don't want to cheat. But both my Sims have jobs but between the maid coming (if she doesn't they always get negative moodlets for the house being a mess!), the repairman, and just living I find that they really don't make much at all. They are progressing through their careers too...so I dunno. Any one else or is it just me?

      You could get rid of the maid. Just have the sims clean the house.. and when you get enough points, purchase the one where you clean and get rid of grime/dirt faster. :-)
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      SimmerOfSimsSimmerOfSims Posts: 298 New Member
      edited June 2009
      You can be partners with community locations. You will earn money without working!
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      TheLighterDarkTheLighterDark Posts: 927 New Member
      edited June 2009
      When your at the bottom of the totem pole of your career you will never make enough cash to be a high spender. Just give it some time and a few promotions and you'll be raking in the cash.
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      NicoleamoralNicoleamoral Posts: 977 Member
      edited June 2009
      Hmm, that makes sense. It just seems that no matter how much they clean, there is always SOMETHING a mess. But I will try what you said, thanks. :)

      I use Swagbucks to earn gift cards to pay for my Sims games! B)
      swagbucks.com/refer/NicM87
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      prplLaurenprplLauren Posts: 64 Member
      edited June 2009
      I found it really hard to make money. Both my sims wanted 5 children so I started the baby making. It got really ridiculous to the point where I was selling lamps and windows just to pay the maid and repairman.

      I kinda succumbed to cheating by changing the gameplay speed to short so my babies would hurry and grow up. (I like to play on the long lifespan)

      But still, I'm still finding it hard to get the worker man the things he needs and take care of him. Every moment money comes in I spend it on upgrading the house (or a book of all things!) then I'm back to $100.
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      ChirpingCow4ChirpingCow4 Posts: 4 New Member
      edited June 2009
      I've only been playing for a little bit with two roommates - they are a premade household. I've had her get a job in politics because she was charismatic and had him get a part-time job just for a little income. Otherwise, since he is handy, he does all the household repairs and cleaning. Aging is off for me because I just wanted to explore for a bit, so I decided to wait on marriage and kids and all that good stuff. Still, with him doing all the stuff around the house, they are sitting around $1000-3000, depending on if I buy them stuff (like a computer so he can write books). I rarely let it get that low in TS2.
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      PhyroxisPhyroxis Posts: 105 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Got a max level writer-- after 25 books (for me at least) he was able to write a Masterpiece which churns out 12k a week.


      Got 1-3k per Drama.. 3k+ for a Romance. Not bad money.


      Politics made a good buck after she got high up there. Same with my medical guy.
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      janellelynnejanellelynne Posts: 402 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Yeah my science guy made a ton of money once he got up to a lab tech position, and that was only level 3 or 4
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      Srikandi715Srikandi715 Posts: 1,753 Member
      edited June 2009
      Money is definitely harder to come by in this game, which IMO is a good thing :)

      Starter families can't hire help. Do your own repairs and cleaning.

      Alternatively, try a low-cost lifestyle ;) I tried a 🐸🐸🐸🐸 sim who had only a bed under a roof with four columns and an outhouse... she roasted fish and veggies she gathered over the portable fire pit object for food, or ate out of other people's picnic baskets at the park. Almost nothing to clean or fix, she spent almost none of her money ;)

      For skill books and the like, go to the library instead of buying them, work out at the gym, and so on... you can skill at community lots now, take advantage of it!
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      AndeavorAndeavor Posts: 31 Member
      edited June 2009
      I'd recommend to focus on your sim's skills he or she needs to get a promotion and as soon as you can afford it, become a partner of any of the local businesses, which draws in some extra cash every week.

      It's even easier if you have an ambitious sim in the household as they tend to get promotions faster than others, especially if you can keep them happy.
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      ArkladybugMusMajArkladybugMusMaj Posts: 52 New Member
      edited June 2009
      I've been having the same problem, both my adult sims are pretty far in their careers. They were okay until they started having kids, now they have 5 boys and it seems like I can't keep more than 100 in the bank!
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      Buddhism101Buddhism101 Posts: 13 New Member
      edited June 2009
      I just stayed single, took the politics ladder, took me about 6-7 hours but I'm at the top of the ladder. Still in a crappy house with pretty much the basic furnishings that came with it, but I'm sitting at 22k right now, waiting till about 30k to start a new house so at least it will be respectable in my eyes :). I didn't really find it that hard. I have my character work really hard 1 day (skill training, cleaning, etc) then have him be super social and do w/e I need to get his happiness back up the next. I tend to get a promotion every 4-6 days.
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      KiteKite Posts: 40 New Member
      edited June 2009
      YES, I'm having the same exact problem as you! The low amount of cash I can deal with, but the red moodlets for the "mess" are really aggravating, mostly because I have NO idea what mess they're talking about! I looked all around the house trying to find what needed to be cleaned but came up with nothing, so I just hired the maid to take care of it, whatever it was... I fired her after a couple days and then the process just repeated.
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      Buddhism101Buddhism101 Posts: 13 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Make sure you rotate the camera and look at the floor from every angle to find dirty dishes etc. Also always click on the sink, toilet, shower, counter tops, stoves, anything. EVERYTHING HAS TO BE CLEAN!!!!!!!!! This game is a **** about it but it's not that hard once you get an eye for it.
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      caporipcaporip Posts: 232 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Buddhism101 wrote:
      EVERYTHING HAS TO BE CLEAN!!!!!!!!! This game is a **** about it but it's not that hard once you get an eye for it.

      This game? You should meet my wife!
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      lucyb135lucyb135 Posts: 185 Member
      edited December 2009
      oh this may sound strange but when you move into a house dont get a job right away, if you know what job you want your sim to have work on the skills first get up to about 5-6 in that skill/skills then get the job that way you will get promoted faster, i did this and got promoted about every 2-3 days but it depends on happieness of corse as well (:
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      talendarmythtalendarmyth Posts: 4 New Member
      edited June 2010
      If you want to discover what is a mess, then try scrolling over the negative moodlet. It usually gives you a clue about what is a mess. Also have one of your Sims get the Handyness skill, it will save you a ton of time on cleaning up if you put things like toilets, sinks, showers and bathtubs as Autoclean. You never have to clean them again. Put a laundry basket in all the bathrooms with showers or baths and in all the bedrooms. That way you don't get negative moodlets for have dirty clothes on the floor. Or if you are strapped for cash, just have the one near the washing machine and wait till one of your sims takes a shower or bath or gets into bed and then grab the clothes and put them in the basket yourself. Works just as well with dirty plates and old newspapers. Just grab them and put them in the rubbish can or trash compactor or dishwasher. No more mess for your sims to complain about.

      Painting and writing a good way to make money. Once you get to the upper levels of the skills, you earn more and more for your work. I had an opportunity from city hall to supply them with 20 paintings. It took a little time to do but I was rewarded with 104,000 simoleons. Not too bad for a little work.
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      SelahFreeAtLastSelahFreeAtLast Posts: 5,102 Member
      edited June 2010
      Okay, I was going to make some suggestions until I noticed this was started last year.
      ID selahfreeatlast @deema316 on twitter
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      simsluvinsimsluvin Posts: 64
      edited June 2010
      Nicoleamoral wrote:
      Am I the only one finding it hard to make money? I know there is a cheat but I kind of don't want to cheat. But both my Sims have jobs but between the maid coming (if she doesn't they always get negative moodlets for the house being a mess!), the repairman, and just living I find that they really don't make much at all. They are progressing through their careers too...so I dunno. Any one else or is it just me?

      One word for ya: salvage! My sims has salvaged her way to 3 houses, this last one shes about to move into (#3) is a 6 bedroom. She makes a killing at the junk yard, and since you can't yet repair the things, I put all the salvaged items in my yard, call the repair man, and wait. The repairman comes around, stand for a couple of hours, then takes his 50 bucks and leaves me with brand new items I sell in the buy/sell tab.
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      CouriervaughanCouriervaughan Posts: 20,570 Member
      edited June 2010
      SelahFreeAtLast wrote:
      Okay, I was going to make some suggestions until I noticed this was started last year.


      I know that too
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      samanthallee1983samanthallee1983 Posts: 192 Member
      edited August 2010
      Salvage is a great way to make money as simsluvin mentioned. Also, regarding keeping things clean: have a sim with the Neat trait. Click on the floor and there will be an option to 'clean entire house' or something like that. It means you don't need a maid and the Neat sims actually enjoy cleaning (crazy).

      EDIT: Warning: Neat sims are VERY neat. When something gets 'too dirty' you'll have to replace it because the neat sim won't use it even after cleaning it several times. I had this happen with a toilet when I was first starting out in my legacy.

      Also, build up handiness and make everything possible self cleaning.

      For the first little bit, you're best to have 1 person work and 1 person stay home to take care of the house. It's often a better value than the maid and you don't have to worry about things being repossessed as much.

      If you have World Adventures, there is a No Bills Ever aspiration reward. When you get enough points, get that (Only 1 sim in the house needs it). You're money will definitely flow then.
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      dragonmaster626dragonmaster626 Posts: 3,716 New Member
      edited August 2010
      if you get ambitions you could get rich in almost no time off just selling the ghost containers you get from the ghost hunter path.
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      SmalpSmalp Posts: 2,905 New Member
      edited August 2010
      Yes I find it hard too to get money :P but I cheat with money :P
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      Jamesmc93Jamesmc93 Posts: 1,815 New Member
      edited August 2010
      This is an old thread but I guess the advice still applies :P

      My biggest advice for those who like to powergame (I prefer not to because I like to be relaxed): Have one of your Sims stay at home (and have traits that help and not hinder this like Loner or Couch Potato) and increase your painting and writing skills. Write a lot of Romance novels and the money will start pouring in. Paint a lot of masterpieces and (assuming you have Ambitions) give them to the consignment store and you can get about 1-2k more for them than you normally would if you just sold them right off the bat. Note that I have the Suave Seller (I think...) LTR.

      For the other Sim, make sure one of the traits is Virtuoso and have him play the guitar for tips. To make the most out of this ability, look for protests outside of city hall or award ceremonies for professions like firefighters and Private Investigators and start playing the guitar near them. The tips will be amazing.

      I wrote more than I had planned but I was bored and I like seeing myself talk. ;)
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