Money Problems

[Jezus53 18]

During one of my game sessions, I ran into some money problems in one of my cities. Now, I like to play as realisticly as possible so I waited till I had a good amount of funds, took out a loan, and cut back as much as I could to try and keep me in the black. I'm curious, what kind of measures do you take in you cities to raise funds for projects like new highways and such?

For this particular city I waited till I had about 20k saved up, spent it, and when I ran out I took out a 30k loan to finish it. This put me in the red by about 150-200 per month. I had to repeal my tire recycling ordinence and cut back on power and water funding, but I eventually got everything in check. It'll just take some time to regain my funds. only 8 years 4months till the loan is payed for!

[SC4BOY 20]

If you're not going to use cheats, the only real solution is slow as you go... loans generally are not a good plan.. it's pretty much a waste of money just like it is in real life.. you'll never regret the cash payments method.

[nbr1rbl 0]

Going slow to start out really is the best way to stay out of the red......Build slowly, only giving your sims luxuries such as schools, hospitals, parks ect. as you can afford them...Also when you do grant them these gifts make sure your funding is adjusted to the levels you need. There is no reason to have room for 500 students in a school if only 150 are attending, try to keep power funding so your plants are pumping out about 80%. Never ever lower water funding as this leads to busted pipes all over your city, and its a royal pain in the butt to constantly fix them......generally i build water plants when usage gets to about 95% of current availability(assuming the plants you have are all fully functional). Depending on map size i use the paying rewards, army base, missle range, casino etc to help finance early cities...on large tiles its very easy to place them far far away from people who don't like living near them. However try to never place a toxic waste dump because its causes riots.

If you must take out a loan, then try to make sure you are taking it out to create things that will pay you back....If I use loans I use them to create new zones which will in turn create tax revenue, taking out loans to pay for infastructure like power plants, and highways only digs you farther in the hole. If i want a highway and I decide to use a loan, what i will do is take out a loan and use that money to build money making zones then use the increase in tax revenue to build the highway or seaport or whatever it is I want

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Depends on your playing style.  Because I start with very expensive resources for water and power, I usually give my self a grant of 2,000,000 Simoleons using the moolah command.  As soon as the city treasury tops 2.000,000 again, I use moolah again to reduce the treasury by the amount of the grant.

it is not unusual for a province to grant up-front money to a new city, and expect to get it back.  Because I don't fool with dribs abd drabs of simoleons, I don't worry too much about building a highway.

My current large city, with only about 250.000 Sms has a real treasury of over 3.000.000 earned simoleons.  I took back my 2,000.000 a couple of days ago.

[joshriddle 29]

One of the main things to remember is that you can always turn down funding for an individual social building. Meaning lower school bus/ambulance funding, so that it only covers the areas you want covered. Lower funding just above the number of patients/students.

The same can be applied to power plants. Water buildings, they can be lowered to an average amount. This sometimes affects output, so be very careful!

Another thing that you can do is lower transportion funding about 20% down without getting any potholes. The same for mass transit. You can also lower airport funding to a level where it is averaged out as well, just like water buildings.

Gaining money is easy by raising taxes for all zone types from between 9.0% and 10.0%. However be careful not to go any higher, unless you are trying to drive someone out of town.

Garbage is a killer of funding. That is why you must stop zoning landfills once the total monthly cost hits 5-6000 dollars. Landfills are extrememly expensive, and they can be replaced with trash incinerators that can also be lowered down to $0, meaning no power output, and it still destroys trash in the tons. Don't bother with the expensive yet extremely insufficient recycling plants.

Issuing the 'Legalize gambling" ordinance helps too, but beware, as this does raise crime effects slightly. You may be using that extra hundred bucks for police stations. However once the reward is unlocked (casino), place it, and it gives you an extra $350 dollars a month. Beware though, as this also affects crime rates.

But that is what I used to do. I just use the Money tree or moolah cheat now,

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: A Nonny Moose

Depends on your playing style.  Because I start with very expensive resources for water and power, I usually give my self a grant of 2,000,000 Simoleons using the moolah command.  As soon as the city treasury tops 2.000,000 again, I use moolah again to reduce the treasury by the amount of the grant.

it is not unusual for a province to grant up-front money to a new city, and expect to get it back.  Because I don't fool with dribs abd drabs of simoleons, I don't worry too much about building a highway.

My current large city, with only about 250.000 Sms has a real treasury of over 3.000.000 earned simoleons.  I took back my 2,000.000 a couple of days ago.

quote>

I think you are the only one who understood what I was trying to do here. I like your idea too. I'll have to try that sometime.

To answer the other replies, I wasn't looking for help on getting money and saving money! I have played this game ever since it first came out in what, 2003? I am a vet at this game. Anyways, here is a picture of what I built. I had to build this in order to 1) expand my city for new residents and 2) keep the city realistic (come on, anyone can build an avenue bridge to a random spot but that isn't realistic in a region). As you can see in the pic some time has passed and I got myself back in the black and I am making double what I used to make per month. Next step, installing some form of mass transit!

NOTE: links are to the photos. I didn't post the photos in my message because they are in 1920x1080 (HD monitor) and I don't like to compress pictures or crop them because that doesn't do em much justice.

You might recognize the name, it's one of the maxis default cities. I like to "fix cities" instead of creating them. Fixing the horrible layouts of Maxis cities is so much more fun and challenging than building something on your own...at least it is for me.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Thanks.  Any business planner will tel you that you have to have three years money up front to start a taco stand.  Since I am building a city, and they only get 100,000 Simoleons to start with, I figure that the Maxis people were not business people.  They are pikers.

On a small tile, I start with 500000, bcause I am usually going rural.  But, if I am planning something more elaborate, I will increase the grant.

You shouldn't have to worry about whther you can afford something when you are starting out.  This is not a Grapes of Wrath scenario, after all.  I have always believed that "Thou shalt not bind the mouths of the cattle that tred the grain."

Note: you and I have been playing about the same time.  I never did like that Berlin region.  Maybe its because I was a little kid in 1939.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: A Nonny Moose

Thanks.  Any business planner will tel you that you have to have three years money up front to start a taco stand.  Since I am building a city, and they only get 100,000 Simoleons to start with, I figure that the Maxis people were not business people.  They are pikers. quote>

So true. The money values in the game seem to be all over the place. I really wish there was a city builder that was dead on in almost every aspect. I say almost because I would have to have to run for office every hour.

You shouldn't have to worry about whther you can afford something when you are starting out.  This is not a Grapes of Wrath scenario, after all.  I have always believed that "Thou shalt not bind the mouths of the cattle that tred the grain."quote>

I'm usually pretty good when I start out. The only thing I don't like is when I start a new city in a developed region and the only connection I have is a road. I feel like that wouldn't be right in real life. A two lane highway cutting through would back more sense, but I'm not to familar with the begins of highways and such. To me, every little town has sprung up off of some main road, usually a highway.

Note: you and I have been playing about the same time.  quote>

Ah another SimCity vet. It's nice to know there are still people who have played from the beginning and are still playing today. It's amazing. Almost 8 years since it came out and there is still a huge following.

I never did like that Berlin region.  Maybe its because I was a little kid in 1939.

quote>

hahaha, that might have something to do with it.

[x493x 446]

You could use the money tree and say you got a giant government grant. Or you could do as said above, be careful and slow with spending.

[Darth Apple 54]

One way to deal with money problems it to try and get ahead. Get a nice big surplus to begin with, and try to keep a nice big surplus. Don't allow your expenses to go too far about your income for very long -- especially if you don't have a lot of funds.

[Riot55 2]

I never use loans. I know what tax methods work and I build to demand and in most of my cities I'm making $3000+ a month. If i leave the game playing for a while i eventually get 1-2 million simoleons and then i never need to take out a loan.

[Darth Apple 54]

I try hard to avoid loans too. However, they are a lot easier to pay off in SC4 than they were in SC3K.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: Riot55

I never use loans. I know what tax methods work and I build to demand and in most of my cities I'm making $3000+ a month. If i leave the game playing for a while i eventually get 1-2 million simoleons and then i never need to take out a loan.quote>

Dang, you make 3k a month? What kind of services do you provide? How high are your taxes? How big are your cities? I've made that much before but it wasn't a pretty city.

I try hard to avoid loans too. However, they are a lot easier to pay off in SC4 than they were in SC3K. quote>

They aren't as bad as people think and they really help you out if you need funds right away (I try to avoid simply running the game on the fastest setting). And I completely agree. SC3K was ridiculous.