How to make money fast in Saints Row: Side hustles and activities to generate extra income
Get a quick cash injection with the most lucrative schemes and side-jobs
How can I make money fast in Saints Row? It's hard to overstate the importance of cash in Saints Row. Not only does the game's main objective require you to accumulate money as part of your efforts to expand the Saints' reputation and cement them as the leading gang in Santo Ileso, but many of the game's systems require you to have plenty of cash to lay down on incremental advancements throughout the story. Want to equip a new perk you just unlocked? The slot will cost you several thousand dollars. Need new threads or a new weapon to complete a challenge? Hope your wallet's not empty.
On this page we'll go over some of the best ways to make fast cash in Saints Row.
How to make money fast in Saints Row
Saints Row is generous about letting you access almost everything from earl on, but Criminal Ventures are one of the few major features that require you to make a bit of progress first. If you're looking for some cash to tide you over in the meantime, you can pull off some smaller jobs to keep you in the black.
Here are some highlights for making fast cash in the early game:
Missions
The main story ends each of its missions with a generous payout in both cash and XP. Early on, missions tend to focus on your character going to work with Marshall Defense Industries, or else taking part in more illicit money-making activities with their roomies.
Side Hustles
Indicated by blue icons on the map, Side Hustles are optional side missions where your character can rent out their dubious talents for cash. Talk to the NPC quest giver at the indicated location to learn whether you'll be acting as a getaway driver, "parcel" courier, hired gun, or even wingsuit saboteur.
Drug Pallet Pickup
Indicated by yellow icons of capsule pills that appear on the map, Drug Pallet Pickups are classed as a Discovery, one of the activity types you can take part in to work towards district completion. Discoveries don't require any combat, and the challenge with Drug Pallet Pickups lies mainly in reaching the often improbable (and usually high-up) locations where some enterprising local crook has stored their drugs cache. Nabbing all the pallets in an area comes with a tidy cash bonus, though.
Crimes of Opportunity
These spawn on your map as classic "drawstring sacks with dollar signs on them" when you happen to be in the vicinity. Simply go to the location indicated, beat four or five members of a rival gang to a pulp, and steal whatever it was they were guarding! It's, uh… not very nice of you, but it gets the job done.
Wanted app
Load up this app on your phone to sign on for some temporary bounty hunting. Exactly what it says on the tin, really: the app identifies local baddies who are wanted by the authorities, and it's your job to go and round them up.
Most activities in Saints Row will earn you both XP and cash, so the advice we give in our guide to levelling up fast in Saints Row also holds true for making quick money in the early game, if you're out to kill two birds with one stone.