Yes, I'm a college student, yes, I still play Animal Crossing. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here are the best ACNL success tips I have for you
1. Make an ACNL Instagram
I cannot stress this enough. Though the Instagram ACNL community may have a little too much drama (as does any fandom), it's so worth it in the long run. The Insta ACNL community is so supportive, and they are very generous when buying things from you/trading. When you join this community, you get ahead in this game so fast it makes your head spin!
2. Buy Shrub (Bush) Seedlings
Buy Shrub Seedlings. All of them. Every day. If you're a more recent player you may be saying, "Shrub Seedlings? Sarah, where do I purchase such a thing?!" Fear not, fellow Crosser, once you upgrade the Nookling's store for the third time (T.I.Y.). Leif will move his garden store into the building, and he will begin selling shrub seedlings. I'm sure you'd like to know why you should buy these things though before you spend your town's budget on shrubs. Well, here's why: first of all, EVERYONE WANTS THEM. But, when someone decides that they want shrubs, they can only buy two a day, and it's unlikely Leif will even have the kind that they want. It will take them forever. But, here comes you with a large selection of shrubs, and many of each kind. They're going to pay some serious bills to save all the time, and inconvenience that waiting for Leif brings. Trust me, shrubs are where it's at.
3. Be Open-minded With Your Villagers
If your not a community-involved Crosser, you may not be familiar with the term "dreamie", so, if you're not, a dreamie is simply a villager that you dream of having. My advice is: don't make a villager your dreamie just because they're everyone else's dreamie. Don't make Merengue, Julian, Stitches, Marshal, Diana, or Fauna your dreamie just because everyone else wants them (if you genuinely want them, that's cool, though). Personally, I have an affinity towards the generally unappealing villagers (i.e. Katt, Barold, Tabby, etc...). Also, if you think you don't like a villager at first, give them some time before you start chasing them out of your town with a net (which, by the way, does not work in ACNL as it did in ACWW, sorry). Conversely, allow yourself to grow apart from a villager that you previously deemed your favorite villager of all time. It's okay to change your mind.
4. Donate Everything You Get to the Museum
Before selling any fossils, fish, or bugs, DONATE THEM. This is so helpful because you know that little notice that you get when you catch a new fish or bug?
Whenever your character says this, it means you've never caught this before, and therefore means you can donate it. If you ignore that message, and you sell it, you'll always have to wonder if you have it in your museum or not. If you always bring the new catch immediately to the museum, you'll know that if you don't get that message, you already have it in your museum, and you can sell it. Setting this rule for yourself from the beginning saves you from a lot of confusion in the long-run.
5. Put Down Paths
6. Look Up ACNL Hair and Eye Charts
But, back to my main point. When getting a makeover, you can look up hair and eye charts, as the ones depicted below, as a reference. They will tell you how to answer Harriet's questions in order to get the results that you want. (Sometimes it's fun to get a surprise, though).
7. Answer Rover's Questions Based on How You Want Your Character to Look
Speaking of getting the results you want by answering questions in a certain way, ROVER! When you first start the game, Rover (the cat in the train) will ask you a bunch of seemingly random questions, but DO NOT BE FOOLED. These are the questions that determine what you're character looks like. Here's a guide to help you through the process. (But don't look if you want it to be a random surprise.)
8. Beetles
Yes, beetles. Beetles are a main source of wealth for a good ACNL player. Especially the Golden Stag, which, alone, is worth 12,000 Bells! Because they are worth so much, though, you have to sneak up on them very slowly; Golden Stags are the easiest bugs to scare away. Find out when the highest-selling beetles are out. For example, the Golden Stag, is out at night, and in the morning.
9. When Turnip Prices Are Low, SPEND ALL YOUR MONEY ON THEM!!!
When Joan the boar comes to town (on Sundays), ask her about the "Stalk Market" Prices. The Stalk Market is like the Stock Market, but instead of shares of a company, you get turnips (yay) (Get it? Stalk? Ha.) If turnips are less than 100 Bells a piece, spend every Bell you have on them. You have all week to sell them at Reese's Re-Tail shop, and if it's getting near the end of the week, and she isn't buying them for more than what you paid for them, go on to your ACNL Instagram (or any ACNL social media account) and ask your fellow Crossers if their town is buying them for more.
Disclaimer: There is still risk involved, there is always the chance that you cannot find someone with a higher selling price, and you lose money, but as long as you sell it before the next Sunday, you won't lose it all.
**P.S. TURNIPS ARE TIME-TRAVEL SENSITIVE!!! If you try to time-travel while possessing turnips, they will instantly rot, and they will be un-sellable.
10. Don't Be Afraid to Change Your Town's Clock
If you're more of a night person, set your clock about 10 hours behind. When you do this, your town will be in mid-day when playing late into the night/into the morning. Then you won't even have to use ordinances to keep your stores open later, because your town fits your schedule. And that's how it should be, right? You are the mayor.
