Buying comfy chairs for your chess set and dining room, and a nice couch for your TV is important. While playing chess, eating or watching TV, your Sim fills their comfort meter. This increases their efficiency by fulfilling multiple tasks at the same time.
Repossession has Benefits
If a Sim is using an object as it is being repossessed, they will get the money back for the object as if they sold it. This is a great way to get away without paying bills. Just keep track of the cost of your bills. Then, immediately after a bill explodes, switch to Buy mode and pick up every object. Find the object with the price closest to your bills, but expensive enough to cover the entire cost of the bill. Then, use the object over and over again, as the repo man is repossessing it. The repo man will usually stand still at first and wait for you to finish. Just use the object again and he'll come grab it.
No Time to Sleep?
The less time you spend sleeping, the better, so get the expensive bed as soon as possible. Up to an hour a day can be saved by using an expensive bed as opposed to a cheap one.
Hot Tub Motives
The hot tub is by far the best value in the game because it contributes to three motives (four, if there are other Sims in the tub). It can be used to replace any fun/bath objects and it's also a great way to put visiting Sims in a good mood to increase the likelihood of a positive result from an interaction. Even though it is expensive, it is recommended to buy one as soon as possible after starting a game. (Just make sure that you have a phone to call the repairman when it breaks.)
Keep Your House Small
Resist the urge to build your Sims too large of a house. They'll end up spending too much time walking from object to object. The best tactic for expanding your house is to increase the size of your rooms until the room score is maxed out (including windows, wallpaper, floors and furnishings). This way you'll have all of the benefits of the large house, but won't have to spend half an hour walking from the fridge to the table.
Catching the Carpool
Just because your carpool arrives at eight, doesn't mean you need to catch it at eight. As long as you have started walking to it one minute before it leaves, it will wait for you. Don't lose that hour by jumping right into the carpool as soon as it arrives. Have your Sims build up their motives so that they can have a successful day at work.
Neat Freak?
Sims don't need to be neat as long as they have a maid, and for $10 an hour, that's a bargain. When creating a new family, don't give any points to neatness. Just hire a maid on day one and forget about cleaning up.
