How to Improve Performance of the Android Emulator

I'm getting started with Android development, but the emulator performance on my machine leaves much to be desired. In all fairness, my machine is not a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination.

Short of upgrading my hardware or spending $$$, are there any good tips for improving Android emulator performance?

Why is my android emulator so laggy?

Running multiple programs at once on your PC can cause performance issues. While running Android emulator for playing heavy games, you should always avoid using up the RAM of your computer. This will cause severe lag to your PC. You can close unwanted programs by going to "Task Manager".

Is testing on your own phone an option? That is a million times faster. Also, are you "debugging" or "running" your app? If you don't need to step through code, consider running it rather than debugging it.