If you're still mugging stores for pocket change, you're doing Los Santos the hard way. The stock market looks like a side toy at first, but it's where the real money lives, especially once you understand how Lester's hits push prices around. I keep a clean routine and it's boring in the best way: plan the trade, run the job, take the profit, repeat. If you want a proper cushion for cars, property, and all the dumb impulse buys, this
GTA 5 Money approach is the closest thing story mode has to a cheat without actually cheating.
1) Timing beats hustle
Most players mess up by doing assassinations the moment they unlock them. Don't. You have to complete the Hotel Assassination to keep the story moving, sure, but the rest are way more valuable after the big endgame payout. It's not "min-max" talk, it's just scale. A 30% jump on a few million feels fine. The same jump on tens of millions turns into "why is my bank balance ridiculous" money. So treat those missions like a savings account you're not allowed to touch yet.
2) The pre-mission buy-in
Before you start a hit, switch through Franklin, Michael, and Trevor and throw every cent into the stock tied to the target company. Every cent. Then run the mission clean and finish it. After the results screen, don't just celebrate and wander off. Open your portfolio and watch the percentage like you're watching a kettle boil. On LCN, the peak often shows after you advance time by sleeping and checking again. On BAWSAQ, it can pop fast, so you'll want to look almost right away. If the profit starts sliding, don't try to "wait it out" out of pride. Sell.
3) The rebound people forget
Here's the bit that turns a good run into a silly one: after you sell the winner, buy the competitor while it's still on the floor. The rival usually tanks because the market "reacts" to the assassination, and that discount is your second payday. You'll likely need a few in-game days for it to crawl back to normal, sometimes longer on LCN. Keep checking the return percent, and once it looks like it's settled back near its usual level, cash out and move on.
4) A safety save keeps you sane
Make a manual save in a fresh slot before every assassination and keep it there until you've fully sold both trades. It's not glamorous, but it saves you when you sleep past the peak or the price does something weird. Reload, adjust, try again. Do that across all three characters and the numbers get big fast, which is why people chase the hard cap in the first place. And if you're the type who just wants the freedom to mess around without feeling broke, slipping cheap GTA 5 Money in
RSVSR into your overall plan can help you focus on playing, not grinding, while still keeping the whole thing feeling smooth and natural.