@crystalgecko hey welcome! More of us have been in your place than you might think.
First gen success might be more attainable with any of these strategies:
- get a rich spouse from the start and worry a little less about property money. Get good expensive beds so your founder feels good while skilling and at their job.
- move in a lot of helpers as long as you're willing to have them in your house for the rest of their lives (my fave strategy, I had four helpers at first and three of them took care of the museum pieces exclusively while my founder cooked and her husband tended to the garden...also you get more move-in money)
- don't stress about fishing right away and realize you just need level 5 skill + angelfish for bait and that's a couple days of work at most that can be saved until later. Please stop tormenting yourselves with this-
- learn about bizarre "get rich quick" schemes that come with various EPs. Rapidly selling goods at the consignment store with Ambitions, having a dog hunt for collectables with Pets, using the Midas Touch elixir or magic 8 ball with Supernatural, and I'm sure there's more missing!