You need to pay that loan, you need some bridges, you need that slick new dress, and so on. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is all about bells, and you need more. For the most part, you make money in Animal Crossing the same way that you do in real life: by selling rare fruits to raccoons. The nice thing about the economy in the game is that there’s really no wrong way to go about it, because you will always make money unless you blow it all on turnips and let them rot. But if you’re a bit into the game and want to start increasing your productive capacity, here are some tricks for making bells much faster.

Shake trees

In Animal Crossing trees play an important role in island life. Not only do they provide fruit, but you’ll also be able to source essential DIY materials from them. Swing your axe at a trunk to find different types of wood which are ued to craft items but can also be sold. Alternatively, simply give a tree a shake. Shaking trees that bear no fruit is always a gamble (you run the risk of aggravating wasps), but sometimes items you can sell will drop down from the branches.

Additionally, dotted across the island are a number of trees that randomly contain Bells. Shaking tress for money isn’t the fastest way to top up your Bell balance, or the safest, but if you’ve exhausted all other options shaking trees is worth a go.

Money Rock

Every day in a player's town, 1 randomly selected rock (not selected by the player) will have Bells in it. If 4 Bell bags are hit out, the player gets 16,100 Bells. But if one has bad luck (tripping with no King Tut's mask), the player will get 5 Bell coins and 3 Bell bags. A good way for the player to always earn 16,100 Bells is dig 2 holes or plant 2 bushes behind the rock right next to each other and put his/her back in the space in between the holes or bushes and rapidly start tapping "A", but without moving the circle pad. Lastly, when the player gets a silver shovel, (rarely) ore comes out of the rock.

Sell weeds

Weeds on your island signal neglect and, for many players, their first act in the game will be de-weeding their island. Once you’ve collected a load of weeds you’ll be left with clumps of weeds in your inventory made up of 99 individual plants.

Take these to the shop and you’ll be able to bring in 990 bells for each clump of 99. While this isn’t a huge profit, you’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone by cleaning up your island and earning some Bells while you do it.

As suggested in the comments (thanks Bisylizzie), later in the game you'll have the option to craft weeds into Hay beds which will not only sell for more (x20 weeds makes a Hay bed that sells for 400 Bells as opposed to 200 Bells for the weeds in their uncrafted state), but also nets you Nook Miles for the crafting.

If Leif's Garden Shop is in town on the main plaza, make sure you take the opportunity to sell weeds to him - he'll pay twice what Timmy and Tommy give you for weeds.

You know it makes sense. This time next year we'll be Bellionaires!

Plant money trees

As you wander through your island home you might come across glowing golden lights beneath the same dirt cracks that yield fossils. Uncover these treasures with a shovel and you’ll find 1,000 Bells! However, if you opt to rebury the Bells, in a few days’ time your island will become home to a highly desirable money tree.

Money trees don't spawn Bells as often as fruit trees produce fruit, but they do provide a tasty 3,000 Bells with every harvest!

And as the old saying goes, you've got to spend money to make money. When you've accumulated enough cash, try burying 10,000 Bells - or even 99,000! - instead of simply reburying the 1,000 you dig up. It might be tough to go without that cash for a few days, but the satisfaction of shaking a tree and pocketing nearly 300,000 bells is immense.

Buy turnips and play the Stalk Market

Every Sunday a young turnip seller called Daisy-Mae will come to your island between the hours of 5am and 12 midday selling her wares in bunches of 10. Throughout the week you are able to sell the turnips back to Timmy & Tommy and (hopefully) make a vast profit in the process.

However, investment doesn't come without risk. Firstly, the buying price fluctuates daily so you'll have to ask the raccoons and check how much they are buying for every day if you're going to sell at the best possible time. Secondly, you only have until the next Sunday to sell the turnips before they spoil and become worthless fodder for ants and flies. If it gets to the following Saturday and the price hasn't risen over what you paid for them, it's best to sell and swallow the loss. Note that Timmy & Tommy do not buy turnips on a Sunday, and you can't leave them in the drop-off box either: 9.59pm on Saturday evening is your last chance to sell them before Timmy & Tommy close up shop.

Making a killing on the stalk market can be one of the most lucrative money-makers in the game, just be sure to keep an eye on your investment and get out when the time is right. There are even online portals and methods to visit other people's islands where turnip prices rise to over 500 Bells-a-piece! The experience can get a bit cold and transactional, with people charging entry and long queues forming, but given the time investment required to host visitors, it may well be worth it if you're looking to pay off that lovable swine Tom Nook. Remember to leave a tip!

Stockpile Fish and Bugs: Some of my most reliable moneymakers in this game are things like Red Snappers, Orchid Mantises, Peacock Butterflies and even the lowly bitterling. You can sell these to Timmy and Tommy, and you can do alright. But every once in a while Flick will visit your island to buy bugs, and CJ will visit to buy fish.

If you're the patient type, stack all your high-value critters in your home storage and wait for significantly better returns on your investment. It could take a little while, but the other day I turned in a giant school of snapper for at least 600,000 bells. Just hold on, they'll be here soon. This is also a decent way of getting a model made, if you’re into it. For more on Animal Crossing New Horizons be sure to visit https://www.igvault.com/Animal-Crossing-New-Horizons-Bells . There's also can Buy Animal Crossing Bells to save more time enjoy the game.