The Best Money Making Methods in Stardew Valley

Summary

The video compares several money-making strategies in Stardew Valley, from early-game fishing to late-game production. It skips ordinary farming and animal products, emphasizing that optimization is optional and players should choose what they enjoy.

Early-game money: Fishing

• Fishing can provide a large cash boost before crops or other systems are established.
• If fishing is difficult, use the Training Rod. Its larger fishing bar makes perfect catches easier, and perfect catches award more experience.
• At Fishing level 2, buy a Fiberglass Rod and use bait to get more bites.
• In spring, the mountain lake is generally a profitable spot. Rainy-day catfish in Cindersap Forest can also be valuable.
• Bring a chest to store unwanted catches, and save fish until reaching level 5, when the Fisher profession raises fish sale prices by 25%.
• Fish Smokers double a fish’s value for one coal and finish in 50 in-game minutes. They preserve fish quality, and smoked fish also benefit from fishing professions.
• Bait makers can help target valuable fish. Riverland Farm starts with a fish smoker.

Dried mushrooms

• A Dehydrator turns five matching-quality fruits or mushrooms into dried produce overnight. It costs 30 wood, 2 clay, and 1 fire quartz to craft; the recipe costs 10,000g from Pierre. The mushroom cave provides one for free.
• Mushroom Logs, unlocked at Foraging level 4, produce up to five mushrooms every four days when surrounded by enough trees. Oak and pine are useful early choices; maple trees increase the chance of red mushrooms, which aren’t suitable for dehydrating.
• Harvest the mushrooms and dehydrate them for extra profit. Iridium-quality mushrooms are often better sold directly.
• With preparation, this can become a passive income source by the end of the first summer. The Artisan profession later increases dried-product profits.

Skull Cavern

Once the bus is unlocked and the regular mines are complete, Skull Cavern can yield valuable loot, especially iridium. Bombs and luck buffs help with deep runs. The creator points viewers to separate beginner and late-game guides for more detailed strategies.

Kegs: Wine and juice

• Kegs require Farming level 8 and substantial resources. A fully upgraded shed can hold 136 kegs.
• Wine sells for three times the fruit’s base price; juice sells for 2.25 times a vegetable’s base price. The Artisan profession adds 40% to artisan-good prices.
• Wine takes seven days to produce; juice takes four. Fruit quality does not affect wine’s price.
• Starfruit wine is more profitable per bottle, but seeds cost 400g each and the crop must be replanted. Ancient fruit takes longer to establish, but regrows every seven days and can be duplicated with seed makers.
• The creator favors ancient fruit for its lower-maintenance, recurring harvests. Greenhouse and Ginger Island production help supply enough crops for a large keg setup.

Honey

• Bee houses, unlocked at Farming level 3, produce honey every four days except in winter.
• A flower within range changes the honey type; only one flower is needed for each bee house. More valuable examples include spring blue jazz, summer poppy, and fall fairy rose honey.
• Ginger Island has no seasonal restrictions. Fairy rose honey farms there can generate substantial recurring income, especially with Artisan. Deluxe retaining soil avoids having to water the flowers.

Fish roe

• Fish ponds holding legendary fish produce roe, which can be aged in preserves jars for a higher price. The Legend’s roe is especially valuable.
• Golden Animal Crackers, when available through farming mastery, double a pond’s output.
• During Qi’s Extended Family quest on Ginger Island, players can catch multiple Legend II fish while the quest is active and place them in ponds. A bait maker can help copy the first catch for future use.
• Trap or cork bobbers can make legendary fish easier to catch. The video also describes using Mayor Lewis’s lucky shorts in a fishing rod slot to preserve tackle.

Resource-gathering tips

• Wood and tree products: Plant spare seeds in convenient areas and replant after chopping trees. Tree fertilizer, unlocked at Foraging level 7, speeds growth. Set up oak tappers early if planning to make wine. Paths around tapped trees prevent unwanted seedlings.
• Hardwood: The Secret Woods’ stumps respawn daily and provide 12 hardwood. Mahogany seeds can grow into additional hardwood trees. An iron axe normally opens the entrance; the video also demonstrates a chair trick to get past the log before upgrading.
• Green rain: In summer, this weather event can rapidly grow trees and produce abundant moss and fiber. It can also help trees planted just beforehand mature quickly.
• Ore and coal: Reset mine floors by leaving and re-entering. Floors up to 39 are useful for copper; floors 41–79 provide iron and Dust Sprites, a major coal source. Monster musk can increase Dust Sprite spawns. Check the quarry for coal nodes.
• Fire quartz: Repeatedly resetting mine floor 81 is an early-game way to gather it for dehydrators.
• Clay: Hoeing the soil on mine floor 15 can yield a useful amount.
• Moss and fiber: Harvest weeds during green rain. Moss also grows on trees, especially during rainy weather. Fiber seeds are available after Linus’s community cleanup special order.

Featured creator and sources

• The video is presented by Trashie, introduced as “Trashaqua.”
• The Range Highlight mod is credited to Nexus Mods.
• The creator references their own modding guide and beginner and late-game Skull Cavern guides.
• Channel supporters thanked at the end: Alexis Jordan, Eileen Faye, and Gemini Dragon.