My sims have been poor several times, and I've had to find creative ways to get around it. Many times it occurs when I buy a house that is more than they can afford. I want to hear your ways on how you improvise when your sims are poor.
I'll get us started!
- One time they couldn't afford beds, so I bought the cheapest bed and let my sims take turns sleeping on one bed.
- I had my sims join a picnic when people cook food outdoors.
- I don't place windows in a house until they can afford it.
- One time they couldn't afford a shower, so I sent my sim to the gym to shower there.
- Fill the yard with several plants and sell the crops for money.
- Have your sim take a vacation day and work on a monetized skill all day. (2 paychecks!)
Comments
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
Libraries are also gold for computer needs, and the occasional easel set up around Windenburg lets them develop their painting skills for extra cash. Karaoke contests can provide a boost in simoleons.
The humour and hijinks festival is a pretty easy one to win if you go in a group and do mischief interactions all night. Each person then gets a voodoo doll which is worth about 900 simoleons and fireworks. Sell all of those and find any posters and snowglobes in the city and you've got a pretty profitable night.
The last time I had a really poor sim, I didn't have tents yet, but I want to try a rags to riches now especially because I also have seasons.
Origin ID: astera00
Stinky City Toddlers:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/952817/stinky-city-toddlers
I forgot about this! I've done that also. It's funny because we would never get away with these in real life.
I do this also. I was really drawing a blank when I made the original post.
I also send them to work or school hungry when they mess around all morning and miss their chance to eat. That's what you get for not eating on time.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
Other things I do are:
Just a few things I can think of off the top of my head for now. Happy Simming!
EDIT: Just thought of one more thing. To help beat the weather when your Sims are poor and can't afford to build yet, just put down a roof (they're free) and manipulate it high enough and wide enough for a Sim to fit inside, put a door on it and they can use that for a temporary 'house'. I've even put my plants in there to double as a temporary greenhouse so plants will grow year-round.
If I'm not doing a challenge I'll build on community lots. The gym usually has a section to sleep and a fridge and some counters for instance.
I also like to put generic lot "homes" in most of my hoods. My sims live free while collecting or visiting those areas. Some homes might have many skilling options also or might be themed. Since I don't fill up my saves it's a nice way to utilize the space.
My sims also go for the free meals .. even going as far as to start engaging with a sim to make them put it down. Then they swipe it and keep talking.
The always welcome trait is my good friend.
They unlock the painting skill for free by working on murals in San Myshuno. They learn to play the guitar, violin, and piano at the Casbah Gallery. Sometimes they get small tips while they're practicing. They can also use the woodworking table to unlock the Handiness skill.
They mooch free drinks at bars. I've noticed that bartenders seem to always have at least one freebie available. A hungry Sim can also get free chips at a bar.
City posters and Snow Globes: I keep one for the collections and sell duplicates. City posters are free money and it feels kind of cheaty using them.
The first three weeks that a Sim is in the game can be difficult but they're pretty resilient. Almost every place that has bathrooms, free food, and drink also have Sims to socialize with as well as a stereo, television, or computer for fun.
I just discovered the yard sale table this past weekend.
I had a newly turned Fledgling Vampire learning how to cook because he got inspired and wanted to make a group meal, even though he couldn't eat any of it. I had him start with fruit salads and garden salads. At level 3 cooking, I let him start using a stove to make starter foods like Mac and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. He ended up with a lot of normal quality food that he couldn't eat himself so he had a yard sale. He stocked the table with the dishes that he had prepared and then he marked everything up 300%, which I figured no one would buy but I wanted to see what happened. He sold everything! He had 2 more yard sales after that because he wanted to learn to bake. The last yard sale earned him $5,000 from the sale of baked goods like bread sticks, fruit pies, cheesy bread, and carrot cakes. He now has several vampire customers who buy his food items and provide vampire training too!
Sims 4 doesn't have many traits that will help you. I can say that some traits may indirectly help you such as increasing skill faster, but that is about it.
My favorite monetized skills are gardening, writing, and programming. Writing and programming don't earn you too much at first, but can bring in a good income if you stick with it. I've also done fishing which brings a decent income. Although I kind of have a personal bias against it. I've never caught a fish in real life. Placing worms on hooks is not my cup of tea. Plants, words, and programming code does not produce guts.
Does anyone know if the new fashion career involves a monetized skill?
Theivery and selling items I stole
Sleep rotation if more than 1 Sim
As others have said, harvestables. I find the time investment worth it - I've found roses particularly lucrative.
Also, since Seasons, my currently active sim families have won the lottery twice out of six times, I believe. I don't know if it's possible to create a custom lottery, but that might be another thing worth trying: Just create so many lottery holidays and buy so many tickets until you win. Granted, you may waste a few hundreds of simoleons until then, but the payoff will more than make up for that, and if my previous experiences are anything to go buy, the odds of winning the sim lottery are way higher than in real life!
Something wicked this way comes!
I don't use MCCC.
Or spend a day getting aspiration points to buy the "always welcome" trait to eat/sleep/etc. at friends' houses.