There are several ways that you can make lots of NeoPoints (NP) each day and while it's true that "you gotta spend money to make money," it's not always the case. The guide below will give you some of the basic ins-and-outs of earning Neopoints.

Bank
Don't forget to open up a bank account where you can save and create money with interest! The more Neopoints that you deposit, the higher your account can go. The higher the account goes, the more NP daily in interest--all for doing nearly nothing!

Auctions
Get the most out of auctions for a great deal. There's a smart, sure fire, way to get savings on items but it requires lots of searching, a bit of speed, and a bit of luck.

Lets say a codestone goes on the Market Wizard for 4,700 NP. You find a codestone in auction that is currently at 3,000 NP. Now lets also say that the minimum increase amount of this item is 1,000 NP. If you bid on it then the bid for the item will go up to 4,000 NP. The next person who bids would have to bid 5,000 NP since the minimum bid amount is 1,000 NP. Thus, it is unlikely that anyone else will bid and pay 5,000 NP for the codestone when they can go to the Market Wizard and pay 4,300 NP. Now you can sell the item in your shop at that Market Wizard price! 

Another trick to the auctions is look at the cost of the highest item on bid in the Auction Genie. For example, say the most expensive item (at the bottom of the list) currently going 4,000 NP and its Market Wizard value is 6,000 NP. If you bid on it, it will kicked from the list; the auction genie only lists the top cheapest 20 results so items cheaper than your current bid will be shown ahead of your bid. If done correctly, the item you just bid on won't show up on the list (try refreshing) and thus you've eliminated your competition because any new searches will not show your bid. You have higher chances of being the only bidder if the item does not show up on the Auction Genie and thus getting it cheaper.

Restocks
Buy low in the official shops (especially on the 3rd of each month when every thing is half price) and then sell if at marketplace prices about a week later (for usually about 3 times as much!) Restock times are random for each shop so you never know when new items will be ready for purchase.

Stock Market
Use the stock market to get a whole lot of NP. It's a lot of people's main source of income in Neopia.

Here's how it works. Look for ANY trade that's selling for 15 NP. Buy 1,000 shares (that's the daily limit) which will cost you 15,000 NP. Check your portfolio everyday but don't sell your 1,000 shares until the price reaches around 30 NP or more. If you hold out and sell at 30 that's 30 NP PER SHARE which means you get 30,000 NP!!! For doing almost nothing, you doubled your investment.

With that NP you can invest another 15,000 in some other 15 NP stock and put the other 15,000 NP to whatever use you deem necessary such buying your Neopet that petpet it's been dreaming to own or maybe donate to the guild. ;)

You should try to do this step everyday until you can't afford to do any more!

Trophies
If you're after NP and a trophy, play Cheat. It's quite simple it's the same thing as the card game of BS that seems to be quite popular. Keep advancing to each level until you beat the hardest level. (You don't have to play all levels the same day, you can resume play at any point during the game at a later time!)

Other games that are relatively easy to earn a trophy in include Go! Go! Go! and Pyramids.

Games
Playing games is a good way to make NP. Play as many games as you want and apart from earning Neopoints, you might even get some trophies out of it as well! Newer games always have higher NP ratios so you can earn more NP for less time (and effort)!

Saving NeoPoints

FREE Healing
Don't buy medicine anymore! If your pets are sick, take them to the Healing Springs! It is guaranteed that the Healing Springs Faerie will eventually heal one or all of your pets. You can go to the Springs every 30 minutes (it may take a few trips) but it is better to wait a while than to spend 99,999 NP on a cure that you could get with a little patience for free!

Quests
Don't do Jhudora's or Illusen's Quests unless you are really set on throwing away LOTS of NP for a trophy that will take you forever to get...

Also, don't do the Earth Faerie's quests, either. All she will do is feed and heal your pets when you retrieve her item. If you really want to get your pets fed take them to the Healing Springs where they have a chance to get fed and healed of any illness. There are several other ways for free food as well. A sure way of making sure that their tummys stay full is to put them in the Neolodge for only 5NP a day; they are fed and played with, just in case you don't have time. Or here's a novel idea... BUY them food! See the Free Dailies page for even more ways to get free food.

If you get a quest from the Rainbow Fountain Faerie... DO IT! The item she asks for may be expensive, but it is definitely less than the price of a paintbrush. Once you complete one of her quests, you can use the Rainbow Fountain to paint any of your pets ANY color that it is available in... Including Baby, Faerie, Mutant, Maraquan, Pirate, and Darigan! So don't miss this rare event should it occur.

Smart Shopping
Be a smart shopper. Look around the Market Wizard and see what the going prices are on things around Neopia. Then, when you are in an actual shop at restock, you'll know exactly what to buy and what will give you the most profit. Save NP by not buying stuff that will return negative profit! Generally, although not always, items that cost exactly 5,000 NP in an official shop are rare items and will be very valuable; worth a lot more than 5,000 NP.

Stay Unemployed!
Don't buy job coupons. They are not worth buying. They cost more than what you can actually get out of them, so avoid the headache and don't buy job coupons.

Have any other good suggestions?
Please post your tips, tricks, and ideas on the boards!