Tip for early game money making:

befriend Caroline (Pierre, the store owner’s wife) ASAP, when she’s at 2 hearts enter her sunroom through the back door in their kitchen. The next day you’ll get a recipe in the mail for Tea Saplings.

I didn’t get this tip when I first tried it because tea only grows the last week of every season and doesn’t sell for that much. But you don’t plant them, chuck them straight into the shipping bin (or sell to Pierre if you need the $ that day.)

They sell for 500g each - use this tip sparingly if you don’t want to break the game. I typically use it for emergency cash like “Oh no, I forgot the egg festival was tomorrow and have no money” or “I need to upgrade my watering can while it’s raining but I forgot and bought a backpack upgrade instead”

Other tips:

• get a coop and some chickens as soon as is feasible (and after building a silo)
  • selling mayonnaise is a lot of money in early game
  • farm animals are a consistent source of Farming Exp (with crops you get Exp when harvesting, but with chickens you get Exp daily from petting them)
• parsnips don’t sell for much, they might be better used to befriend an NPC

spoiler

• Pam because she sends items in the mail that are really useful

• if you randomly get mail from an NPC you’ve befriended (e.g., not after a quest) you can restart the day to get the item you want (out of the small selection of items that each NPC can send you- a few examples below hidden in spoiler tag - some of these are useful for completing the Community Center)

spoiler

• Pam sends batteries and energy drinks
• Demetrius sends pufferfish, rainbow shell
• Emily sends wool