How to Pay Off Loans in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Last Updated: July 12, 2020

One of the primary goals in any Animal Crossing game is to pay off your house expansion/building loans, which seems to increase as time passes. With all the expansions and customizable options to add on to your home, it is easy to accumulate quite a hefty debt. Luckily, there are many ways for you to earn back every bell you owe Tom Nook and still raise money for extravagant home décor.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Getting the Money

1
Sell fish or bugs. Although your position as a mayor is not paid, there are still many ways to make a profit in New Leaf. One of the easiest ways to make money is by selling fish and bugs to Reese at the Re-Tail Shop, which can be found by locating the pink recycling icon on the map at the bottom screen.
- To catch fish, get a fishing rod at the Nookling Junction on Main Street. Open your inventory while standing in front of a body of water (either a river, pond or ocean), and equip the fishing rod by dragging it over to your character. When you see a shadow moving below the water's surface, hit the A button to cast your bait. Wait until the fish approaches your bait, and you hear a dripping sound. Upon hearing the sound, hold down the A button to reel in the fish
- Bugs can be found in the air, on the ground, on trees, and around flowers. To catch bugs, first get a bug net at the Nookling Junction. If you find a bug, sneak up on them by holding the A button until you are close enough to the bug. Equip the net by opening your inventory and dragging it to your character, then hit the A button when you are 3-4 steps away from the bug to capture it.
- The most valuable fish and bugs can be found on the island at night, from 8PM to 5AM. If you have not already unlocked the island, you must pay 10,000 bells to Tom Nook to transform your tent into a home. Afterwards, talk to Tortimer on the dock and wait a day for Kapp'n to appear with the boat.
  - If that time is too late for you, you can time travel.
- While some fish and bugs are only worth about 500 bells each, others can be worth up to 32,000 bells.
- If you have already caught some things for Reese, enter the shop, and hit the A button to talk with her. Select the “I want to sell” option, and select items from your inventory (you can select multiple items by tapping them with the stylus), then hit the “Done” button at the bottom of the screen to finish your selection.
2
Sell fruits. You can also make bells by selling your town's fruit (each piece sells for about 100 bells) to Reese in bulk. Go from fruit tree to fruit tree, and hit A to shake them.
- Collect the fruit and group them into bushels by opening your inventory and dragging matching fruit into piles. Up to nine fruits can be stored under one inventory space.
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3
Go bell-rock hunting. You can get bells from a certain rock in New Leaf. These rocks look like ordinary rocks, but if you hit it with a shovel, bells will come out. To learn more on how to get bells from rocks, check out this article.
- If you hit a rock with a silver or gold shovel, ore might come out. You can sell the ore for a good number of bells at Re-Tail.
- You should be familiar with the location of rocks in your town. If you notice a new rock in your town, hit it with a shovel an it should disappear, leaving a piece of ore.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Paying Off a Loan

1
Locate the electronic bank. There is a machine that functions like an electronic bank located on the left side of the Post Office (which can be found on the left side of Main Street).
- Although the Post Office is open 24/7, to pay off a loan, you must use the machine while Nook's home is open, which is from 10AM to 8PM.
2
Check how much you owe. To check how much you still owe Tom Nook, face the machine, press A, and select “Pay Off Loan” option. The machine will displays exactly how much you still owe.
3
Pay your loan. Using the bottom touchscreen, enter the numerical value you wish to deposit, and hit the “Enter” button to finalize the transaction.
- A loan can be paid off in as many transactions as you need.
- Once a loan has successfully been paid off, you will be able to purchase further expansions for your home; however, the prices of these expansions will continue to increase.

Community Q&A

Question

Is it possible to have extra rooms in the basement like you do on the main?

Ruby

Top Answerer

No. On the main floor, you can get 4 rooms (main room, left room, right room and back room), but in the basement and attic you can only get one room (they are still expandable). You can expand a room 2 times and you can get up to 6 rooms, which means you can expand your house up to 17 times.
Question

What if they do not let you sell specific things?

Ruby

Top Answerer

Some things you can't sell at T&T or Re-Tail, such as trash, without paying extra. A simple way to solve that problem is to simply buy a trash can and throw away the stuff you can't sell.
Question

I don't see "Pay off Loan" as an option.

Rawrfunkle Everbutt

Community Answer

Go to Tom Nook, and ask for a new home redecoration. It's as easy as that, and you'll have a new button in no time.