Best Ways To Make Money In Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption is one of the greatest open-world games ever made, and the fact that it’s finally receiving a port on new systems after a long wait has been a source of great fanfare in the gaming community. While the lack of remastered textures and the like is a huge disappointment, most people will forget about these issues after booting up this game and experience its magic for themselves.

The game features a myriad of ways to get money, which is important given how stingy this game’s economy can get at times. To get the best weapons, items, and outfits in the game, players need to make the most of the tasks they can accomplish in Red Dead Redemption to have the capacity to spend as much as possible without having to think twice before making a purchase.

Updated February 5, 2025, by Stephanie Harris: Given the love and adoration that Red Dead Redemption 2 receives, it’s easy to see why its predecessor is recommended for fans of unique Western open-world games with fun narratives and engaging gameplay. Throughout their adventure, players will come to realize how important every dollar is. As such, it’s essential for players to figure out the best way to earn money quickly so that they don’t face any financial issues over the course of the story.

14

Random Encounters

Triggered Scenes That Can Result In A Payout

• Scenes are randomly triggered and potentially unreliable
• Journey around the world to find these encounters

While not all random encounters in Red Dead Redemption will earn the player money, some NPCs offer objects that can be sold. Further, there are tasks like ‘Nice Eyes’, ‘The Herbalist’, and ‘The Trapper’, all of which can earn the player can earn some cash or gather some items while showing off their skills at a particular task.

These dynamic encounters deviate from the main path of the story but can be a lot of fun, and add some realism to the world around the player, encouraging the player to dive deeper into activities like hunting and foraging in order to be rewarded.

13

Good Ol’ Fashioned Treasure Hunting

Players Can Get A Decent Payout

• Challenging without guidance
• Ultimately can be rather rewarding

It can be a bit of a pain to try and hunt down treasure in Red Dead Redemption. There’s no denying that the open world is a blast to explore, but that doesn’t make it any less tedious to try and figure out the exact landmark that a map is pointing toward. Some of these locations are a bit too cryptic for most people’s liking.

It’s easy to see why most people prefer to follow a guide to make this act of treasure hunting easier for themselves. There’s no shame in doing so, especially since players gain access to valuable loot and a decent hoard of cash in the process.

12

Gather Plants All The Time

A Tedious But Reliable Way To Get Some Money

• Rather tedious and repetitive
• Foraging is always an option, no matter the location

There are many ways that players can interact with the world of Red Dead Redemption. From robbing stores to engaging with strangers, there’s no shortage of things to do in the game. In fact, fans can be forgiven for forgetting that there’s one action that players can perform if they wish: gathering herbs in the open world.

As one would expect, this isn’t the most interesting task in Red Dead Redemption, especially given how action-packed this game is at its best. However, if players want to earn some quick cash whenever they’re exploring the world, then it’s important to forage as many herbs as they can to sell them for a quick buck. It may not seem like a lot, but all of a player’s hard-earned looting accumulates to make a pretty penny.

11

Hunt Birds When The Opportunity Arises

Winning The Bet Is A Great Way To Fill John’s Pockets

• Ultimately a challenging endeavor that requires skill
• Potentially as lucrative as hunting

Players can shoot birds just as they hunt animals throughout Red Dead Redemption. Some of the best locations to find birds spawning include near lakes and rivers, and Dead Eye can be used to slow down time. This is especially useful because birds are particularly small targets, and more difficult to shoot than other animals.

When hunted and skinned, birds in Red Dead Redemption only provide feathers, which are not as useful as animal pelts but can be sold to merchants for some money. They are also useful for the mission “Deadalus and Son”.

10

Play Five Finger Fillet Over And Over Again

A Simple Mini-game With A Good Payout

• A straightforward mini-game that all players can try
• Gets more difficult over time

There are many ways that players can distract themselves from the gorgeous world of Red Dead Redemption, and a great way to accomplish the same is by playing the minigame Five Finger Fillet. It’s a fairly simple mini-game as long as players are fairly adept at playing video games.

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Sure, the button prompts become more and more complex over time, but it never gets too unmanageable either. As a result, John can amass a decent amount of earnings via large bets before getting up and quitting before the minigame becomes ridiculously tough to accomplish.

9

Use The Money Cheat

For Players Who Don’t Mind Using Cheat Codes

• An easy way out of financial troubles
• There are consequences for choosing to use cheats

Rockstar’s games are known for their imaginative cheats, and Red Dead Redemption is no exception to this golden rule. While the prevalence of cheats in gaming may have died down over time, fans are still glad to see this studio continue this trend in their games.

Players need to input the code ‘The root of all evil, we thank you!’ to get $500 instantly. Players can repeat this code as many times as they want, so long as they don’t mind achievements being disabled.

8

Exploit Liar’s Dice In Lights, Camera, Action

A Popular And Widely Accepted Way To Win A Lot Of Money

• A rare chance to make lots of cash
• Worth researching before the mission begins

Lights, Camera, Action is one of the many great Stranger Missions that will keep John occupied during his adventures in Red Dead Redemption. While the mission is pretty decent, it’s the Liar’s Dice segment that opportunistic players should watch out for.

Unlike most games of Liar’s Dice, the ante in this game is set at $200 instead of the usual $20. Savvy gamblers can make the most of this opportunity to get a ton of cash as long as they play smart during this game, making it a profitable avenue for the player to exploit.

7

Hunt Down Bounties

Bringing Targets Back Alive Nets More Cash

• A fun and entertaining side quest
• Try not to kill any bounty captures

Selecting bounties and chasing them down is one of the best ways to earn money in the game. After all, these bounties pay a bomb, are fun to go through, and give players a bonus if they manage to lasso and capture said bounty alive.

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In fact, it’s exclusively recommended to get all bounties alive, since the money earned is double that if said criminal was brought dead to the sheriff’s office. Also, there’s something innately hilarious about a criminal bouncing around behind the player’s house as John or Jack rides toward the place where they can be dropped off.

6

Loot Dead Bodies Frequently

Tedious But Rewarding

• A method that works throughout the game
• Can be very rewarding over time

While this goes without saying, players shouldn’t forget to loot the bodies of their enemies whenever they get the chance. While this sounds like obvious advice, players can rack up a huge kill count in the game, and trying to loot the body of each dead foe can seem overwhelming.

However, players who are diligent and don’t fail to loot every dead body around them will find their coffers growing sooner rather than later. It may not be the most exciting way to earn money, but it’s certainly the best way to maximize a player’s earnings after a particularly grueling shootout.

5

Gamble To Your Heart’s Content

Save-Scumming Can Let Players Amass A Ton Of Money In No Time Flat

• Another popular mini-game
• Can be a risky endeavor

As is the case with most Rockstar games, there are many mini-games that players can engage with in this game if they wish to enjoy a distraction after shooting felons left and right. Most of these activities involve players betting some cash, which means that players who manage to find an activity they enjoy in the game should bet as many dollars on it as possible.

There are a variety of mini-games that players can check out if gambling on one particular activity over and over again becomes a bit tiring. Regardless, gambling is a great way to increase the protagonist’s funds, although the argument of how efficient this method can be is a completely different debate altogether.

4

Clear Out Gang Hideouts

Action-Packed Moments With Suitable Rewards At The End

• A fun activity that deviates from the main story
• Requires tactical combat abilities

There are many engaging open-world activities that players can do in Red Dead Redemption. One such activity that players will encounter in the game world time and time again is the various gang hideouts that are scattered all across the countryside.

These hideouts feature a ton of gang members who will riddle Marston with bullets if he isn’t careful while taking on these foes. Clearing these hideouts is a great way to earn cash from the loot players can find on the bodies of these foes, but the real treasure always comes in numerous treasure chests and the like in the hideout which have some serious cash.

3

Hunt Animals And Sell Their Pelts

Traders Will Give A Lot Of Cash For Good Quality Pelts

• A lucrative side hustle that all players can take on
• Be careful attacking dangerous animals

Hunting is one of the most valuable side activities that players can do in Red Dead Redemption. It’s also pretty dangerous, and players should be ready for a fight if they decide to try and bring down a carnivore that can devour their health bar in no time flat.

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Hunting and skinning these animals nets players a ton of resources that can help them earn a lot of money in no time. The fact that skinning animals in the game doesn’t take nearly as long as the lengthy animations of Red Dead Redemption 2 is a bonus.

2

Complete Missions

The Simplest And Best Way To Earn Money

• Following the main story comes with rewards
• Easy to overlook

While this may sound obvious, players can get so busy trying to earn money in the game that they fail to look at the big picture. While it’s true that some missions in Red Dead Redemption don’t net players any cash, this isn’t true for every job that John needs to carry out in the game.

Some missions can be especially rewarding and give players a much-needed injection of funds in no time at all. This allows players to progress the game’s story while earning a hefty amount of cash in the process, letting them kill two birds with one stone.

1

Carry Out A Robbery

An Immersive And Dishonorable Way To Increase Marston’s Funds

• An entertaining, immersive aspect of the game
• Very dangerous, with increasing risk as it continues

Given that the Wild West was full of outlaws who had no problem veering on the wrong side of the law, it’s easy to see why robbing people in this game makes for an alluring prospect. Players can enter shops and point their guns at merchants, forcing them to give up their hard-earned cash to the protagonist.

It’s important to wear a bandanna while carrying out a robbery so that players don’t have to worry too much about their Honor falling after this task. Shops aren’t the only place where these robberies can be committed — players can also rob bank vaults and shake down NPCs during random events, which adds to the world’s impressive immersion.

Released

May 18, 2010

Developer(s)

Rockstar San Diego