User blog comment:KingAlan007/HOW DO I GET MONEY IN SKYRIM!!!!!!/@comment-457370-20140204064055

When I was a little bitty Imperial, I was frustrated by the fact that I was always broke too. In addition to the obvious looting corpses method of earning money, here are some other options.

Mining: Get a pickaxe (blacksmiths sometimes sell them, or you can usually find them for free in mines) and go exploring in the mountains near Riverwood to locate some mines. I know Embershard Mine is in that vicinity. Mines are usually plagued by bandits, but once you kill them all (and loot the corpses!), look for ore veins in the mine. Keep mining until the veins are depleted. Click on them and you will start mining the ore. Fast-travel back to a city and use the blacksmith's smelter to turn the ore you mined into ingots. You can then sell the ingots to the blacksmith, or use them to improve any weapons and armor you took from the bandits you killed and then sell those to the blacksmith, or use them to smith new weapons and armor and then sell  those to the blacksmith. The raw ore can also be sold to the smiths, although it's a little less valuable than the ingots.

Smithing: You should always improve any weapons or armor you gather before selling it. Improved items bring in more money, plus it helps to increase your smithing skill which lets you make and improve the more advanced items.

Gathering: Wander through the forests and fields and look for alchemy ingredients. Any time you come across a plant that lets you harvest it, do so; also watch for birds' nests to take the eggs. The ingredients can be sold to potions shops (like Arcadia's Cauldron in Whiterun), or you can experiment in an alchemy lab to make potions and poisons and sell those instead.

Bounty Hunting:  In every town you visit, go to the inn and ask the person behind the counter if they know of any work you can do. They almost always have a bounty that was dropped off by the Jarl's soldiers, requesting that a particular giant or bandit group be killed. Hunt down the target, then go to the Jarl's steward to collect the bounty.

Hope this helps!