Employment

• A Sim picking up her newspaper to look for a job
  
  To earn money in the game to buy things or to fulfill certain aspiration levels if the Sim has chosen the "Fortune" lifetime aspiration, the Sim needs a job. Click the newspaper that is delivered near the mailbox on the Sim's property to look at the want ads, or click a computer and choose "Find a Job."
  
  

Relationships

• Sims developing a relationship
  
  Relationships are important in The Sims 2, so the Sim should hang out in front of her house to meet passersby. Some career paths require a certain amount of friends before the Sim can earn a promotion.
  
  

Wants and Fears

• "Wants and Fears" on the control panel
  
  In the center of the control panel are icons representing the Sim's Wants and Fears. Wants received will earn the Sim aspiration points that keep the aspiration meter high and the Sim feeling fulfilled; fears that materialize will take points away, often severely.
  
  

Needs

• Sim "Needs" meters
  
  To the right of the Wants and Fears panel are the horizontal meters that indicate what needs the Sim has such as hunger or energy. Keeping these needs met keeps the Sim happy; an unhappy Sim may refuse to go to work or it may even die of starvation.
  
  

Cheats

• Press the "Ctrl," "C" and "Shift" keys together to access the system prompt for the game, and type "Help" to view all the commands available. "Motherlode" will give the Sim 50,000 Simoleons; "Kaching" gives 1,000.