Animal Crossing Player Accidentally Buries Life Savings

An Animal Crossing: New Horizons player has accidentally planted a money tree using their life savings instead of the 1,000 Bells they had dug up just moments before. While the Nintendo Switch game has a variety of different features like fishing and home design, a significant part of ACNH gameplay requires saving money to pay off debt and continuously upgrade the island.

Planting money trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can greatly increase a player’s fortune. Players will frequently encounter a golden glow in the ground at various spots along their island, and they can dig up some Bells if they take a shovel to the spot. After harvesting their bounty, a hole is left in the ground. Rather than refilling the hole, players can throw some Bells in to grow a money tree. If a player plants between 100 and 1,000 Bells, they are guaranteed to get three times the buried amount when the tree grows. However, the predictability of the financial return changes as the amount of planted Bells increases. If between 10,000 and 99,000 Bells are buried in the former shining spot, there is a 70% chance the return will be 30,000 Bells (regardless of the exact amount buried), with only a 30% chance the money tree will yield three times the amount of Bells buried. As a result, a player who plants a money tree using 99,000 Bells is more likely to grow 30,000 Bells (and lose money) than 297,000 Bells.

Due to the unpredictable nature of money trees, an Animal Crossing: New Horizons player recently inherited a pretty risky financial situation. Reddit user misamiso_ revealed that after they dug up 1,000 Bells from a shining spot in the ground, they intended to replant their bounty and grow a money tree. With 1,000 Bells planted, they are guaranteed to get 3,000 Bells in return. However, they accidentally planted their entire life savings – a whopping 99,000 Bells – instead.

Other Reddit users came to misamiso_’s comfort by emphasizing that there is still a 30% chance the money tree’s bounty will amount to a staggering 297,000 Bells. Only a few hours after the thread went up, though, misamiso_ posted an update that many users had sent them Bells to help them recover their financial losses. They explained, “To all of you kind people offering me bells to replace the one [I] lost don’t worry! [I’ve] already made it back thanks to some very kind people and wouldn’t want to take more than [I] need from the rest of you!” It appears the ANCH community came together to help a fellow villager overcome a common mistake and bail them out of financial straits.

While it’s no fun to accidentally bury a copiously large amount of money in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the community response that came out of the situation was a silver lining. Mistakes happen in ACNH all the time, some more comical than others, but the game doesn’t allow its players to slip through the cracks no matter how dire their situation may seem. Those who are curious about the fate of misamiso_’s life savings will have to check their post for updates after the money tree’s three-day growth period – there’s still a chance they hit the jackpot.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available on Nintendo Switch.

Source: misamiso_/Reddit

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