The next item on the Sims “24 While 24” Checklist Challenge is to earn §1,000 from a “side hustle.”
After doing some research, I learned that the term “side hustle” has two meanings in The Sims 4, depending on the context:
- In the context of a teen Sim’s goal-oriented aspiration, “Reach level 3 in a side hustle,” the term refers specifically to one of the two teen side hustles: Simfluencer or Game Streamer.
- Outside that context, it’s an informal term for “any money-earning activity that’s not an actual job or career.”
There are a lot of ways to make money in the Sims 4. I browsed various lists, looking for something I hadn’t tried before. In the end, I chose Archaeology, which is supposedly lucrative. I bought the Jungle Adventure expansion pack when it was released in 2018, but I hadn’t yet stepped foot in Selvadorada. Let’s do that!
The game allowed me to send Chestnut and Patch on vacation with Charlotte. Obviously, I had to do it.
It was fun at first. Patch enjoyed browsing around the marketplace.
By the end of the day, the horses’ needs were dropping fast. They were bored and hungry, and I probably could have figured out a way to address this, but I was there to find loot, not pet horses. I sent the horses home, and Charlotte continued her vacation alone.
Armed with all the machetes and GCREs (Grilled Cheese Ready to Eat) she could carry, I sent Charlotte out to play Tomb Raider.
(I just realized I missed my chance for some in-game cosplay!)
No spoilers for the Jungle Adventure content, but Charlotte spent the next few days engaged in archaeological practices that were questionable from both a technical and an ethical perspective. And making interesting new friends.
That was fun. The part that came after, where she had to spend hours and hours analyzing her finds at the Archaeology table? Less fun.
Ultimately, Charlotte sold everything she looted from the jungle and earned §2,632. Not bad for only a week of work!
