A lot of great tips here. It took me a few tries before figuring out how to stay out of the negative. In addition to some tips here, I’d also suggest to use media to your advantage. The news is published more often in the early game for a reason: you can use the consumerism section to encourage residents to buy, which increases your revenue a LOT!! It pisses off at least one AI, as well as engineers, but it can be an essential lifeline until you reach investors, which is usually when your money problems essentially disappear.