Table of Contents
The Economy Basics
Paralives uses Paradimes (p) as its currency. Every purchase — homes, furniture, food, travel — costs Paradimes. Managing your household finances is a core part of gameplay, and there are many legitimate ways to earn money beyond simply grinding a career.
The starting budget varies based on your Storyteller difficulty and household settings. You can start with as little as 0 Paradimes for a "rags to riches" challenge or with 100,000+ for an immediate building spree.
Quick Money Cheats (Optional)
Press Ctrl+F1 and type: makeitrain (10,000p), piggybank (1,000p), or lottery [amount] (up to 100,000p). These are useful for testing or recovering from financial disaster, but purists can ignore them.
Screenshots
Career Income
The most reliable income source in Paralives is your career paycheck. Each career pays differently based on:
- Career level: Higher ranks = higher pay
- Daily performance: Meeting goals and maintaining positive mood = bonus pay
- Work schedule: More shifts = more income
- Career perks: Some Job Perk cards boost daily earnings
| Career | Income Potential | Pay Frequency | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tech | High | Weekly | High skill, long-term stability |
| Medical | Very High | Weekly | Best earnings (requires Adult+) |
| Law | Very High | Weekly | High earnings (requires Adult+) |
| Business | High | Weekly | Flexible, versatile |
| Entertainment | High | Weekly + events | Social gameplay |
| Culinary | Medium | Weekly | Cooking synergy |
| Art | Medium | Weekly + sales | Creative players |
| Music | Medium | Weekly + performances | Social gameplay |
| Athletic | Medium | Weekly | Teen+ accessible |
| Education | Medium | Weekly | Balanced lifestyle |
| Science | Medium | Weekly | Academic players |
Selling Items
Selling Furniture & Objects
Any object bought from the Build Mode catalog can be sold. The sell-back value is typically a fraction of the purchase price — don't expect to make money this way. However, if you've changed your mind about a build, selling unused items recoup some funds.
Selling Food & Ingredients
Cooked meals and foraged ingredients can be sold. Cooking high-quality food and selling it provides modest income. This works best when combined with the Culinary Career for skill XP while earning extra Paradimes.
Painting for Profit
The Painting skill is one of the best money-making strategies in Paralives because it combines skill practice with direct income:
- Level your Painting skill to around 10-15 (easier with the Art Talent)
- Purchase an easel and paint regularly
- Completed paintings can be sold for 50-500+ Paradimes depending on quality
- Higher skill = higher quality paintings = higher sell prices
- Paintings also gain value if donated to the museum
Optimal Strategy: Keep a Parafolk painting while another works a day job. By evening, you have a completed painting worth selling. This creates passive income that compounds — one skilled painter can generate 1,000+ Paradimes per day in painting sales alone.
Selling Collectibles
Collectibles found around Melino can be sold for significant sums. Higher-rarity items are worth more:
- Common items: 10-50 Paradimes (common mushrooms, stamps)
- Uncommon items: 50-200 Paradimes (uncommon artefacts, gems)
- Rare items: 200-500 Paradimes (rare artefacts, precious gems)
- Legendary items: 500-3,000 Paradimes (Meteor, rare paintings)
Museum vs Selling
Consider donating rare collectibles to the Melino Museum instead of selling them. Museum donations unlock exclusive rewards (Laptop, Trophies, Electric Solar Panel, Wind Turbine, Castle Miniature) that can't be purchased. Donating is usually better long-term than selling for quick cash.
Town Events & Side Jobs
- Treasure Hunt (Thursday): Find red chests around Old Town for free items that can be sold
- Weekend Market (Sunday): Browse for items at bargain prices to resell
- Bus Fare Exploit: Bus travel costs only 3 Paradimes — cheap enough to use for exploration to find sellable items
Fastest Money Methods (Ranked)
- Cheats:
makeitraingives 10,000p instantly. Fastest by far, but defeats the purpose of economic gameplay. - High-level career + daily performance bonuses: Once established in a Medical or Tech career at mid-level, daily paychecks can exceed 1,000p.
- Painting + selling: A Level 15+ painter generates 300-500p per completed painting. Two paintings per day = 600-1,000p daily.
- Lottery cheat:
lottery 100000gives 100,000p in one command. - Collectible hunting: Exploring Melino thoroughly and selling all found collectibles adds up over time.
- Culinary cooking for sale: High-quality meals can be sold; combines with skill building.
Balanced Approach: For the best gameplay experience, combine a steady career income with painting as a secondary income stream. This gives you consistent money while still enjoying the economic management aspect of Paralives.