Hugh, it is hard to make money at low levels. Make potions and sell them, increasing your alchemy at the same time. Fight in the arena. Do you have the Grey Fox Cowl which will allow you to carry a lot of loot? The shack is handy because you can sneak in wearing the cowl. I stole a lot of stuff from the Mages and the dungeons provide a good haul. I found some good stuff in the Imperial City. The guard tower had some valuable weapons. It was quite a while before I was able to buy a fancy house.

Yes, Alchemy is a good way to make money early in the game. The easiest ones are Fatigue potions, and you can make a ton of the with all of the vegetables you find lying around. Also, As you level up the loot in the game gets better, too -- even in dungeons you've done previously (they restock).

If you join the mage guild you can pick up all sorts of goodies lying around, like soul gems. You can sell those, too.

Really the best way is to get your Sneak and Security levels way up and then you can just cruise around taking whatever you fancy. Just don't get caught.

thanx. Yer I'm doin that. Makin and sellin fatigue potions.

Yea, the earlier levels are a bit of a pain in the beginning. That's why I don't even concentrate on getting gold in the first 10 levels. It takes some of the fun out of the game since in real life finances are a struggle anyways. I just make do with whatever I can get from bandit caves, castles and Aylied ruins. Joining the mages guild and completing the mages quests is IMHO one of the biggest advantages. Alchemical equipment is probably one of the best weight per value ratios and there is a ton of it lying around the guilds and the Arcane University.

Also, once you have access to the Arcane University you can make your own spells and enchant your own armor and clothing using filled soul gems. I'll let you find out for yourself, but a few grand soul gems and a handful of old clothing if worked right can make you nearly indestructible and or undetectable....

You have to scrape by in the early levels, which in a way I didn't mind because it makes you crafty and really think and plan. I like the fighting and dungon diving when you have to conserve everything, your arrows, your health and the health of your armor. The only drag is it takes many trips to haul everything out and at that stage you NEED everything.

Later you have more gold than you can possiably ever use and that's easier but not as much fun. I've been buying houses just to spend gold and I only pick up enchanted items and leave the rest.

I like the middle part of the game where you have to save up a bit to get good enchantments and a decent house but you know that you will be able to manage it

I totally agree with on that Nipmo, I like it as well. It does add a bit to the role-playing/imagination aspect of the game. It really makes you feel like you've been thrown into some cruel world and your only resources at that point are your wits and whatever you can grab...