Tales of the Shire: How to easily make money

Money is more important than you might think in Tales of the Shire. While you can forage, fish, bake and farm, you’re going to occasionally need some resources that you don’t have access to, and that’s where hard currency comes into play. When it comes to things that you can’t barter or farm up yourself, you can always buy these off of the other hobbits, at their shops.

From cooking reagents, fancy clothes, and more Garden Beds to plant your seeds, quite a few things cost money in Tales of the Shire. While this is a cozy, relaxing indie game, capitalism still exists in one form or another. If you need some fast cash, here’s how you can do it.

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Ways to make money easily in Tales of the Shire

The fastest way I made money in Tales of the Shire was by fishing. In my experience, it was much better than selling extra food from my garden, or things I had foraged out in the wild. That stuff sells decently too, but a full inventory of fish would leave me with about 500 coins.

The below fishing spots are where I make most of my money (Image via Take-Two Interactive)

This is a good reason why spending time grinding up the Foraging Club is so important. By doing that, you’ll increase your backpack space, and that means you can hold more fish. Sadly, fish don’t stack in your inventory; though I desperately wish that they did. That would just mean more money! Having a higher Fishing Club rank also means you can fish faster, and this equates to more money.

What I do, when I want to farm up money in Tales of the Shire, is I start the morning, water my plants if needed, and completely empty my inventory. Then, I went down to Old Ruby’s Pond because it’s closest to your Hobbit Hole, and fish it dry. Then, head over to the Old Stone Bridge Pool nearby. Both are circled on the map above.

What a haul, what a haul! (Image via Take-Two Interactive)

Head into the Burrowses’ Shops and Home, and sell your catch to any of the merchants. It all sells for the same, so just pick one of them. If you’ve unlocked Ladle’s Jetty, from friendship with Nefi the Dwarf, then make that your next stop. It’s a much larger pond, and has way more fish. Then head back to the nearest merchant and sell them. That should easily get you around 1,000 or so coins, depending on your inventory size.

The best part is that you can head back to some of these spots every few in-game hours or so. I try to make two or three loops a day if possible. Since the Garden Beds cost around 700-1000 gold, you can easily buy a few of them this way.

I don't think Bartering is as good a method, but it is certainly a backup, if you have tons of eggs for Nefi or herbs for Delphi (Image via Take-Two Interactive)

Another solid idea, when you’ve got a few chickens, thanks to friendship with Tom Cotton, is to trade them to Nefi. You can trade Eggs for a variety of meats, and you can then sell those meats. I think fishing is the best, but this is another option if, for some reason, you have tons of extra Eggs.

What else do you need money for in Tales of the Shire? In the early game, you’re going to need resources like Flour and Milk for cooking, and you just can’t farm these. You need to purchase them from Sandyman and Young Tom Cotton respectively. Thankfully, with the power of fishing, you can make all the money you need for more seeds, garden beds, and anything else you need.

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Tales of the Shire releases on July 29, 2025 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X}S, PC, and the Nintendo Switch. You can learn more about the game in our in-depth review.