(Estimated Read Time: 9 minutes)

Leaving the corporate world behind to start a farm your grandfather left you is tough, especially when you don’t have enough money. Thankfully, Stardew Valley provides various income-generating sources to help maintain your farmland. Here we'll dive into the best methods for making money in Stardew Valley 1.6.

Stardew Valley 1.6 Money Making Guide

The farm layouts mentioned come from community members who used tools like the Stardew Valley Farm Planner. These farms are cut above the rest as they promote efficient and effective profit generation while using different in-game farm layouts.

Riverland Paradise

The Riverland Farm can be challenging in maximizing profit gain, notably since the layout prioritizes fishing over foraging, caring for livestock, and planting crops. However, Reddit user u/SEN_pai7474 transformed the Riverland Farm into a money magnet. Each building, structure, and farmland element is meticulously placed to provide efficient resource placement and gathering.

Min/Max Masterpiece

Min/maxing is generally a character-building strategy wherein players maximize a specific ability, skill, or trait. On the other hand, this concept minimizes the importance of everything else. Such is the idea behind the farm layout for a certain Reddit user (who has deleted their Reddit account at the time of writing). Note that this farm design uses the Standard Farm layout. Additionally, the farmland focuses on using nothing but functional structures and items. The user’s placement for aesthetic, albeit functionally useless, items is minimal at best. This sacrifice for visual appeal allows the farm to concentrate on money-making elements, such as plots, aquariums, and livestock houses.

Forest Fantasy

Stardew Valley tells its players that the Forest Farm is ideal for foraging. Although this layout doesn't have significant space for planting crops or livestock homes, Reddit user u/Freakcaps combined different in-game elements to transform the limited space into an area with a 25% profit margin. The image above is during the farm’s 2nd year, which means new Stardew Valley players shouldn’t find this layout too challenging to complete.

Late-Game Income Generator

Specific items in Stardew Valley generate more return on investment than others. Two notable items are Wine and Ancient Fruit, which Reddit user u/kellylikescats achieved. The image above shows the player’s 8th in-game year, which displays all the Ancient Fruit crops and sheds with Wine kegs on the farm. Producing Wine is a nice touch, considering it’s not possible to cultivate Ancient Fruit outside in the winter.

Optimum Organization

It can bring tears to the eyes when you see a Stardew Valley farm that focuses on clean organization and profit generation. You can find these elements in the farm layout made by Reddit user u/Sorry_Village13. This particular player used the Standard Farm layout to create this income-generating work of art. It features careful placement for each farmland element, providing no time wasted when doing chores like caring for livestock, planting crops, and harvesting plants.

Planting the Best Crops

Stardew Valley players must pay attention to the game's changing seasons and adjust their planted crops accordingly. Failure to heed this warning may result in destroyed and unsellable crops as seasons change. Below, you’ll find the best crops to plant for each season in Stardew Valley:

• Spring: Garlic, Parsnip, Cauliflower, Strawberry, and Ancient Fruit
• Summer: Hot Pepper, Hops, Melon, Starfruit, and Blueberry
• Fall: Beet, Eggplant, Grape, Pumpkin, and Fairy Rose
• Winter: Crocus, Crystal Fruit, Snow Yam, Winter Root, and Powdermelon (added in Update 1.6)

Note: Find additional information about each seasonal crop in our Stardew Valley Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Guides.

Tips & Tricks for Making Money in Stardew Valley 1.6

Despite some limitations, Stardew Valley typically doesn’t significantly limit players in choosing their ideal money-making methods. So, here are additional ways to earn extra gold pieces in Stardew Valley.

Refine Goods

It can be tempting to sell 100 Eggs and earn a quick buck. However, consider holding onto those items until you have the requisite refining station. For Eggs, that would most likely be the Mayonnaise Maker. Then, place the Eggs in the Mayonnaise Maker to create Mayonnaise. Next, sell the resulting Mayonnaise to earn additional gold pieces.

Use Crystalariums

Unlock the Crystalarium crafting recipe upon reaching Mining Level 9. Then, craft a Crystalarium using 99x Stone, 5x Gold Bar, 2x Iridium Bar, and 1x Battery Pack. Once placed, put a gem inside the Crystalarium and wait five in-game days. Upon finishing, this structure duplicates the gem placed in it. For example, placing a Diamond grants 750 gold pieces when sold. With a Crystalarium, you can double that amount, allowing you to earn 1,500 gold pieces instead.

Select the Right Profession

Stardew Valley will eventually make you choose among different professions as you progress. Remember, each profession has its unique advantages and shortcomings. Like selecting the right farm layout, think about your unique playstyle and preferences when choosing the right profession for you. For instance, the Artisan profession gives you an extra return on investment when selling artisan goods. On the other hand, the Prospector profession gives you an additional 500 gold pieces for each Iridium Bar sold.