What was your favorite way to earn bells?

[~Kilza~]

For me, it was catching sharks while on Tortimer Island. I probably did catch beetles too, based on what everybody is saying, but I more clearly remember just spending hours catching sharks so I could sell them for a lot of bells.

 

[Halloqueen]

My preferred method of earning bells in New Leaf is to ship out to Tortimer Island and catch rare beetles and sharks to take back to town to sell. It's relatively quick and easy, you know what to expect in terms of payout, and it's a nice way to engage with the game's systems in a fun way. I also have fond memories of playing the game with my best friend years ago and going to Tortimer's Island together to catch the beetles and sharks and go on the tours so at this point it's nostalgic.

I've never really been one for playing the stalk market in any of the games because I'm very risk averse and don't like to gamble. I only really engaged with it in New Horizons for a little while because a friend of mine figured out the trends with the tools you can find online and we both wanted to get the achievements and associated titles for making as much money as possible from selling turnips.

 

[Coach]

Island farming - both beetles and sharks. I used to do it while on Club Tortimer which, while not the most efficient and subject to occasional disconnects, was great to meet new people at the same time. The stalk market was never something I hugely got into apart from when I realised it was a badge

 

[Aerith]

I used to farm the island for bugs and sharks! I got to the point where I could remember which bugs were the most lucrative and which were worth passing on. Back when New Leaf was big though, I used to make my bells by hosting catalog sessions for specific items. I never had the huge towns with items scattered everywhere, just a few choice sets and specific pieces that were rare. People would drop a lot of bells for them, but this was also an era where duping was A Thing, so I've no doubt some of what I earned was dirty money, lol.

 

[Galatea]

Tortimer's Island was my go-to spot for earning bells especially through bug-catching and shark-fishing.

 

[Zerous]

Island bugs and fish as well! I was too lazy (ironically) to do the camper method, so I just sold them to Re-Tail.

The majority of my bells came from trading on here though, back when 20 hybrids cost 4 million or something, but that wasn’t the most enjoyable way to earn bells personally.

 

[podunk]

Beetles and sharks was the most efficient way I earned bells, but my favorite was daily processes like digging for fossils and bamboo shoots, and finding the money/ore rock. Just the small, steady accumulation of bells every day.

 

[oak]

Catching those beetles sure was satisfying. Going back to your town from the island with a pocket full of beetles was the best

 

[milkyi]

I always used the island bug farming. To this day, that activity is very nostalgic for me.

 

[Irescien]

I think i got almost all my money from farming sharks and beetles at tortimer island, having summer year round was definitely a good benefit there for grinding the critters worth the most bells. I think i tried sellinh baskets of fruit too on premium, but i eventually got too lazy to check for that.

 

[Milleram]

I never got into turnips in NL. Only in NH. In NL, I preferred catching bugs on the island.

 

[deana]

I only ever earned bells on the island or a little from selling extra fossils. I was never in to the online stuff to do turnips so I was limited to solo activities.

 

[leafturnedover]

My ways of earning bells from most used to least:

1. Beetle/ shark farming on the island at night

2. Everything else

 

[moonbyu]

you can't go wrong with beetle/shark hunting on the island. nothing beats it!

 

[Alpawca]

Yup, like most others in this thread you can't go wrong with hunting for beetles and sharks on the island. :] A lot of the bells I have are just from playing the game frequently and doing my dailies, like hitting the money rock, selling ores, selling extra fish and bugs I don't need for my museum... It adds up quite a bit when I play a lot and I usually can deposit around 50,000 bells at the end of my of play sessions.

 

[xlisapisa]

it would definitely be tortimer's island grinding for sharks and beetles like everyone else. but when i had a lot of free time i dabbled in the stalk market here and there as well.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Beetle farming was a bit of a grind at times but I look back on it so fondly now!! Kinda wish I had tried the turnip route but I guess I was too lazy to look into how it all worked lmao

 

[biskwest]

Summer beetles and shark catching was my thing I found it to be peaceful!

 

[axaniao]

yup i loved to go to the island and catch sharks and beetles.. i have a huge interest in beetles because of it. they're silly

 

[Nenya]

Same as many others, bug catching and fishing on the island after 7pm when the grasshoppers and butterflies were gone. Back then I had all the bugs and fish values written down. I would keep catching and releasing until all that were in the basket were the very high bell critters. I came pretty close to 400k in one trip at times.