The best ways to make money in Stardew Valley

If there’s one thing that you’re always going to need a lot of in Stardew Valley, it’s money. There is of course farming to fall back on, which is always a solid earning opportunity, but there are a few other ways to make a quick buck. 

Whether you’re trying to buy new decorations, paying off bundles or Jojamart (if you’re a monster), or you want to upgrade your tools, there’s always something to spend your money on in Stardew Valley. If your main income is through farming, I have some suggestions for side hustles that can bring in a hefty funds boost.

Pigs can be a goldmine

Unfortunately, my main alternative method for making money quickly requires a little bit of prep work, so you’re going to have to put in the work if you want to reap the rewards. 

First of all, you’re going to need to grind out the levels of your Foraging skill because you need to reach level 10 and pick up the Botanist Profession. The perk of this profession is that every time you pick up a forageable item, they will always be of the highest possible quality. This increases the selling price of foraged items by an absolute ton. 

Then, you’ll need some pigs. There’s no fixed number for this, but honestly, the more the better. Pigs can only be placed in a Deluxe Barn, which is a bit of a time and money sink. To purchase a Barn and upgrade it all the way up to a Deluxe Barn, you’ll need the following:

• 43,000 Gold 
• 1,350 Wood
• 650 Stone

Deluxe Barns can hold 12 pigs, each costing 16,000 Gold, so to fill the entire Barn with pigs, you’ll need to spend 192,000 Gold. I know that sounds like a lot, but they are worth their weight in gold and then some once they reach maturity, I promise. 

Now for the fun part — a return on investment. After reaching maturity at 10 days old, each pig that’s allowed outside for the day will drop one Truffle each day during Spring, Summer, and Fall, or more, if you’re really lucky. These Truffles are classed as forageables, so with the level 10 Foraging Profession of Botanist active, these Truffles are guaranteed to be Iridium Quality when picked up. 

Each Iridium Quality Truffle sells for 1,250 Gold. With 12 pigs in a Deluxe Barn, that’s a guaranteed payment of 15,000 Gold every day, except during the Winter, when pigs don’t like to get their little feet cold. If you’ve followed these instructions, it will take 26 days (including the 10 days for the pigs to become mature) to get your money back and start making pure profit, and that’s if they only drop one Truffle per day. 

Don’t forget to go fishing

I know that in the early days of a save file, the excitement is heady and it’s all too tempting to spend a week clearing out all of the debris on the farm, but have you considered going fishing instead? 

Your first Fishing Rod will be the Training Rod, which can be purchased from Willy’s Fish Shop for 25 Gold. Alternatively, if you don’t go fishing at all during the first year, he’ll visit you at home and thrust a free one in your direction. Don’t ask how I know that, I just do. 

With your Fishing Rod in hand, head to the nearest water source and start casting. The Training Rod is only capable of catching Common fish, but these are still sources of pure profit, and you’ll soon start pulling in funds. You can slowly upgrade to better-quality fishing rods so that you can catch more lucrative fish.

If you want to boost your profits, you’d be wise to choose the Riverland Farm layout, as it comes with a free Fish Smoker. This can be used to double the worth of any fish, including Legendary Fish and Crabpot fish. If you don’t start out on a Riverland Farm, you can still get a Fish Smoker by purchasing the crafting recipe from Willy’s Fish Shop for 10,000 Gold. 

The recipe to make a Fish Smoker is as follows:

• 10 Hardwood
• 1 Sea Jelly
• 1 River Jelly
• 1 Cave Jelly

Utilize the Greenhouse and Ginger Island for lucrative crops

Either of these locations can be used to grow any crop at any time of the year, including Ancient Fruit and Sweet Gem Berries, which are both incredible ways to make a lot of money. However, just like the pigs, this will take some prep work before you actually see a huge amount of money returned. 

Sweet Gem Berries

Sweet Gem Berries grow from Rare Seeds, which can be purchased at the Traveling Cart during any season but are guaranteed to appear during Spring and Summer for 1,000 Gold each. These can then be planted in the Greenhouse or on Ginger Island regardless of the season, and will give you your first harvest after 24 days. You can speed up this growth time by using Speed-Gro Fertilizers or if you have the Agriculturalist Profession active.

Each Sweet Gem Berry sells for between 3,000 and 6,000 Gold, depending on quality. However, this is a one-yield plant, so you’ll need to sacrifice some of your produce to the Seed Maker if you want to make some profit without purchasing new seeds. 

Ancient Fruit

Unlike Sweet Gem Berries, Ancient Fruit is a crop that will keep producing fruit every seven days past the initial 28 day growth period, making it a preferable option. However, getting your hands on the first pack of Ancient Seeds is not straightforward.

To get Ancient Seeds, you’ll need to dig up some artifact spots and hunt down an Ancient Seed. Despite the name, this cannot be planted, but donating it to the Museum will unlock the recipe to turn it into the type of seeds that can be put in the soil. Then, you’ll need to find another Ancient Seed artifact and use it to craft the seeds themselves. 

If you happen to get any Iridium Quality Ancient Fruit, you can just sell it outright as it goes for between 1,100 and 1,210 Gold, depending on whether you have the Tiller Profession active. However, in any other case, it’s best to turn Ancient Fruit into Artisan Goods. While Dried Ancient Fruit sells for the most (between 4,150 and 5,810 Gold depending on Professions), this requires five Ancient Fruit, so works out to be less than efficient. 

Instead, turn your Ancient Fruit into Ancient Fruit Jelly. This sells for between 1,150 and 1,610 Gold, depending on whether you have the Artisan Profession active. 

The Beehive is back in fashion

Once you hit Farming level 3, it’s a good idea to craft and place some Bee Houses down, then surround them with flowers. Bee Houses that have flowers placed within five tiles of them will produce Flower Honey every four days except during Winter, which can sell for a high price. 

The sale price of your Flower Honey will depend on what type of flower is surrounding the Bee House, and you’ll need to harvest the Honey before you harvest the flowers, otherwise it will turn into regular Wild Honey. 

Here’s how much Honey can sell for with each type of flower:

It’s worth noting that you can also place Bee Houses and flowers on Ginger Island to get Honey all year round.