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How to earn money fast in Saints Row

Jon Bitner
By

Saints Row gives you countless ways to earn cash and grow your criminal empire. Whether you’re playing as a bounty hunter, establishing criminal enterprises, or just following the main story, nearly everything you do in Saints Row will reward you with cash. However, not every activity is worth your time if you’re trying to quickly fatten your wallet. Here’s a closer look at six activities in Saints Row that’ll earn you money fast.

Further reading

Focus on Ventures

A Saints Row menu showing an upgraded Criminal Empire.

You’ll unlock Ventures a few hours into the main story of Saints Row. This unique feature lets you set up criminal enterprises throughout Santo Ileso and generate passive income. Things start out slow — you’ll maybe earn a few thousand dollars every hour — but escalate quickly. Before you know it, you’ll be pulling in over $50,000 an hour. Be sure to spend some time at the Empire Table at your headquarters (located in the main room upstairs) and see what Ventures you can establish. Unlocking new Ventures is often tied to specific story missions, so keep an eye on your smartphone for quests relating to your Empire Table.

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Also, make note that your Ventures only generate income while your game is running. So if you don’t mind keeping your console on while you sleep (or go run errands), you’ll be filthy rich before you know it.

Follow the main story

A player viewing mission details using their smartphone in Saints Row.

It’s boring advice, but you’d be surprised how much cash is thrown your way just for following the main story. Some missions offer a few grand upon completion, although rewards ramp up considerably as you move deeper into the game. Eventually, you’ll earn $15,000 or more for tackling a single mission. Not only do these grant loads of cash, but they’re a significant source of experience points and additional perks (like new vehicles, weapons, or upgrades for your crew).

Take out Threats

A Threat location highlighted on the Saints Row map.

Threats come in many forms — some missions require you to find and protect a stash house, while others require you to destroy surveillance vehicles or nearby enemies. Whatever the case, these are typically great sources of cash and help improve the passive income generated by your Ventures. These missions don’t take very long to complete, so consider checking them out whenever you drive by one.

Pick up cash

Most enemies drop both cash and ammo when defeated — and you’re seriously missing out if you don’t take a few seconds to pick these up. Each drop is typically only a few hundred bucks, but seeing as you’ll be up against waves of dozens (possibly hundreds) of enemies, it’s not uncommon to find several grand on the ground after a big fight.

Become a bounty hunter

Load up the Wanted app on your smartphone, and you’ll have the option to hunt down a high-value target for cash. It’s not the most lucrative way to earn money in Saints Row, but it lets you get tangled up in some fun shootouts and earn a few bucks for your efforts. You’ll also earn a good chunk of experience points.

Leave bad reviews

An @tcha location on the Saints Row map.

There are a lot of side missions that reward cash, but the @tcha missions are arguably the most cost-effective. Simply find an @tcha icon on your map, head over to it, then get started by leaving a bad review — the lower the review, the more money you’ll earn. Lower reviews also mean larger waves of enemies, but if you’re ready for a challenge, this is an easy way to earn up $10,000 in a few minutes.

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Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner is a freelance journalist whose gaming addiction began with the SEGA Genesis. His work has been published on…
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