The month of March has finally arrived and, as all gamers know, this period is marked by at least four fundamental elements: the arrival of spring, Nioh 2, Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
If feudal Japan has already traumatised you enough, and you're looking for a moment of calm from the legions of demons of the new Doom, your choice will fall on Nintendo's latest exclusive.
As all fans of the franchise will surely know, one of your first concerns in Animal Crossing is how to earn money, or Stars. Earning money will allow you to expand your home, as well as furnish it and perform a whole range of other activities.
Unlike the previous chapters of the series, in New Horizons we won't have any initial debt to Tom Nook, as the plane ticket to get to the island and the initial accommodation have been paid with the Nook Miles, a new game currency that we'll talk about in more detail in the body of this guide. However, as soon as you decide to move into a "brick" house, you'll inevitably incur a debt to the game's most likeable and venal raccoon.
How to earn money fast in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Read the following lines to find the answer.
How to get lots of stars fast
Let's get one thing straight: to earn Stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons you'll have to spend some time, often a lot of time. However, there are activities you can do to maximize the results of your actions, all with only one indication: be a proactive citizen.
Here are a series of actions that will allow you to earn Star-Burns:
- Go out and reap the fruits, every day
- Hit the stones to get resources
- Cut down the trees and, if you do, plant new ones.
- Go fishing (follow the directions in our Fishing Guide)
- Catch insects regularly
- Dig for fossils every day, and sell the excess ones that the museum doesn't need...
On certain occasions, even shaking trees, breaking rocks or popping balloons will automatically earn you money. For this very reason, remember to always be active.
Selling excess items (be careful who you sell them to)
In this respect, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is similar to its predecessors: the fastest way to get Stars is to sell items you don't need. The two main characters to whom you can sell the excesses of your inventory are Timmy and Tommy. The two, in the early stages of the game, will have their own shop at the Residential Services tent; however, after some of your progress, you'll help them make Nook's Cranny (follow the instructions on how to build Nook's Cranny) but don't get your hopes up: you won't receive any discount for your collaboration.
From this precise moment on, you will find them there, but only at certain times. In any case, don't worry: during closing hours, you'll find an outside box where you can deposit the items you no longer need, and you'll receive your compensation from the Stelline the next morning.
Fortunately, Timmy and Tommy are not your only sales contact. In this respect, you can count on two other NPCs: C. J. the Beaver and Flick the Chameleon. As their animal nature might suggest, the former is fond of fish, while the latter of insects and, according to what is now written, they will assign you missions related to the capture of these specific animals, rewarding you with unique items.
But that's not all: these two characters will pay you extra stars for every fish and/or insect you sell them, more than Timmy and Tommy will offer.
Returning to these two characters, however, know that as soon as they open Nook's Cranny, you can get extra money by selling the "Hot Item" of the day. This item changes every 24 hours, but don't worry: these items are always easily available.
Making Objects
It may sound strange, but selling raw materials will sometimes be less convenient than selling the items you get by working those same raw materials. In this respect, as you'll easily notice, in Animal Crossing: New Horizons the crafting system has been very thorough, allowing you to create items from scratch.
Let's take a couple of examples. If you fish an Old Tire, you can resell it for 10 Stars; if, on the other hand, using a workbench, you get a Toy Tire from that same object, you can resell this object for 20 Stars. Or, if you have two Iron Nuggets available, you can choose to sell them for 750 Stars, or if you use them to make a pot, from which you can get 1500 Stars, practically double!
It goes without saying that making new items using the crafting system will take some time, but it's always a useful activity, especially on your first steps on the island. Always remember, however, to keep some raw materials for yourself, especially Wood and Iron, as you will need them to progress in the game, opening new shops and making certain structures.
Import exotic fruit to sell and grow the perfect fruit.
As mentioned earlier, one of the first ways you can earn money in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is by picking and selling fruit. You'll simply have to reach any tree and shake it, or hit it with an axe, to make the fruit fall. However, the fruits of the island's original plants are available in large quantities and, for this very reason, you won't get many stars.
Our advice is to visit other islands. How do you visit other islands? There are two solutions: either with multiplayer (read our multiplayer guide), or you should get tickets with Nook Miles, which will allow you to visit other islands. As soon as you arrive on the new island, all you have to do is collect the fruits of the plants not present on yours and, back home, all you have to do is sell and, above all, plant them.
This way, you can get exotic fruit plants, which will guarantee you a constant income.
As for the Perfect Fruit, the matter is more complex. The Perfect Fruits are aesthetically more beautiful and flashy than their "standard colleagues", and their value is therefore higher. However, they are rare objects to find, but we have a tip for you: the moment you get your hands on a Perfect Exotic Fruit, plant it in your garden.
In this way, in fact, the first harvest will be composed only of perfect fruits, which means a considerable amount of Stelline.
Use the Stalk Market to make a profit
After you help Timmy and Tommy build Nook's Cranny, a new NPC will show up the following Sunday to visit your island. It's Daisy Mae, who took over from her grandmother Joan, bringing the Stalk Market back to life.
For those of you who have never heard of this feature, it's a kind of stock market... based on the sale of turnips! The operation is quite simple: on Sunday you can buy the turnips from Daisy at a fixed price. During the week, however, the price of the vegetables in question will fluctuate, varying twice a day (check out Timmy and Tommy's store to find out their value).
Your goal is to sell the turnips when their value will be higher, in order to get the highest possible profit. But don't think about accumulating them over time: within a week, in fact, the turnips in question will become stale, losing all their value. Wait for the right moment and sell them, thus obtaining a potentially very high amount of Stelline.
