With the release of the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto V, opinions have been diverse and hotly contested. And with good reason. There’s a lot to consider. The size and detail of the map, for instance, versus how much of it is you actually use. The social commentary on police, what with having a wanted star granting the police in game the right to shoot you dead. Skyrocketing cost of healthcare. And the inordinate difficulty in making enough money to survive let alone thrive. I can spend the entire day hunting and make maybe $1,000 for my trouble, but if getting mauled by a mountain lion at the end of the day nets me $1,500 in medical bills, then I’m in my pocket for the day’s work. And, for the danger they present, illegal ventures don’t necessarily pay much better. So we’ve put together a little guide looking at ways to make money, how to maximize your profit, and what to ignore.
Cletus will eventually teach Trevor how to hunt, and you can spend a blissful day in camos taking in the wonders of mother nature while slaughtering her children. The sniper rifle should be your weapon of choice. A single shot does the trick, but where you place the shot determines how much you’re paid for the carcass. Always aim for the neck. And then there’s the danger of being attacked by a mountain lion, which will ruin your day’s take. Here’s a word to the wise: as soon as you hear the lion’s roar, switch to your shotgun, spin, and blow the cat away. You could theoretically make bank with a pristine carcass, but it’s not worth the risk involved. Still, you’ll only make a grand a day, so while it may be fun for a while, don’t rely on hunting to finance your next house.
Franklin will have the opportunity to engage in illegal street racing from time to time. You make a couple thousand for every race you win, so upgrading your car to its absolute maximum would only require you win about two-hundred races (end sarcasm). And considering just about every vehicle in GTA V handles like a bus and utterly fails to act like a real vehicle when moving at high speed, when you’ve accounted for the frustration, your high blood pressure, and having to buy a new TV and/or controller when you’ve smashed the old one/s, engaging in a single race puts you deep in the hole.
As in the more recent GTA titles, should you take a melee weapon or your fists to the nearest citizen they will cough up a wad of cash when they go down. Wealthier parts of town yield higher returns but also carry with them an increased chance of becoming wanted. I won’t lie. Knifing a little old lady and looting her body is part of what made the GTA series great. And the combat experience can help you train your character. But you’ll average about twenty bucks per mugging and earn a wanted star every five people you mug. It’s a real hassle to lose the cops for just a hundred dollars.
You can go into any store in the game, aim a gun at the guy behind the counter, and walk away with whatever is in the till. The affluence of the area that you’re robbing determines your take, with the low end being around $200 and the high end being about $1,000. It also comes with it a guaranteed wanted star, meaning you have to lead the cops a merry chase every time. Provided you enjoy driving, and you have a quick getaway vehicle ready, this is not a bad way to pay for your next weapons upgrade or clothes shopping spree. But if you’re looking to upgrade vehicles or purchase real estate, you’ll be at it for quite some time.
Drive or fly out in the mountains north of Los Santos to pick up and drop off packages bound for the border, because in this fantasy world it’s the US that supplies Mexico with guns instead of the other way around. You earn $7,000 for flying and $5,000 for driving, and access the missions once Trevor purchases the airfield in the Grand Senora Desert. You’ll improve your flying and driving skills respectively, make some decent pocket change, and enjoy a change of pace from some of the more monotonous ways of earning money in GTA V.
Stealing a taxi and picking up fairs is an old standby. In Los Santos, it can be surprisingly equitable. At top speed picking up and dropping off fairs I was able to average about $20,000 a day. That’s good money for a completely legal practice, and while there are other more profitable ventures, it’s probably one of the best for an immediate turnaround.
These are all scripted, so you only get to do so many heists in the game, but these are your principle moneymakers. You’ll walk away with at least six figures every time. If you’re smart you’ll consider re-investing the money you’re given instead of outright spending it.
Purchasing businesses and properties is a guaranteed way of making positive cashflow with no risks involved. But, let me be clear when I tell you, that it’s painfully slooooooooow. For example, you can purchase Pitchers for around $200,000. You earn back $2,000 from that investment every week. That means you need to spend 100 weeks in-game to recoup your initial investment costs. The pricier properties around Los Santos aren’t much better. Give it a try if you’re in the game for the long haul, but if this is a wham, bam, thank you ma’am deal, don’t bother.
This is where the future is at, ladies and gentleman. White collar crime. Blow a few people’s heads off for Lester and suddenly the stock market is dipping and soaring in your favor. For a quick rundown, there are two markets. LCN is the single-player market. BAWSAQ is accessible only through online play as the stock prices change depending on the investments that other players make (I foresee some serious minmaxing here if moderators aren’t present to curtail the more cutthroat bastard tendencies of the average gamer). I would recommend you save as much money as possible until Lester’s questline, invest according to his instructions, and then sell ASAP before the stock prices return to normal. Once Lester’s missions are over and done with, you should be left with a nice pile of capital. Here’s where we can game the system a little. In the LCN market, each stock has a listed high and low value. It won’t diverge much from these outside thresholds, so you’ll always have an idea of what the lowest and highest the stock will be at. So, all you have to do is invest in stocks that are near the low value threshold, wait a day or two, and sell them when they nose back up to the higher end threshold. Since there’s no in-game danger of a company going bankrupt following Lester’s missions you have nothing to lose by hanging onto stocks until they rise above your purchase price. Just check your stocks often and sell when a modest profit presents itself. Lather, rinse, repeat.
