I used to think that being in a faction and working was enough, but I noticed that most people count on numerous sources of income, instead of just the salary. And the salary is usually so much lower than the other income sources.
But I've never found out how else to get money, besides working on a faction. What am I missing? I've even checked out facilities, but they're so expensive that they won't pay themselves off for a VERY long time even with a Management level 5 Operator

I make a majority of my money on several FI Planets

Sorry, but what does the "FI" stand for?
Anyway, wouldn't I need a lot of money to do that? That's what get me lost, it's a cycle. Everything that earns money is very expensive, so I never have enough money...

FI stands for facility income, which would indeed require unreasonable amounts of money under normal circumstances.

I'd say most people earn an additional income based on trading in one form or another.

^

Trading is the primary route to wealth in the game currently. Buy from factions which typically have much lower prices than listed by private sellers such as on CPM, then sell on there yourself. Generally it is cheaper from the factions as you need to wait for the stuff to be made etc first.

Also, OOC based efforts can also be used, such as doing art, providing information services of one sort or another etc. These usually take no time away from your faction duties, and provide you with significant additional income streams.

Don't purchase Income facilities from the CPM/other markets as they're being sold at market value, which is generally many many times that of what it actually costs to construct.

You're better off asking a faction that owns a planet if you can build a few FI cities on a planet. Assuming you give the planet owner the 50/100/etc flats, they're usually not all that disinclined to allow it, assuming your city won't mess up with crime/morale stats.

I agree with the ET/Fish.

Financial Incom facilities can be built (including RM costs, and construction costs) for a small fraction of the costs you can buy them on the market or from a trader.

Trading can earn you some credits, but in my opinion, trading requires a lot more work long term (each trade is a one time income boost, so you need to repeat ad nauseum to make profit) than Financial income (which is bascially build and forget).

However, the most profitable form of 'trading' is really to produce some goods yourself (again, like FI facils, at a fraction of the market cost) and then sell at or near market cost.

My advice from my experience is to gain money by trading items. Buy from manufacturers and add a small margin (15-20%) for resale.

This is not going to gain you massive credits in a short time but will, in the end, pay off.

Use the gambling hut. Play games with good odds. Make games with good odds. Thats how som people make a little going around money.

It's more common to lose than to win; not the best strategy. Faster and more reliable to make money trading.

I mean making a game with a 10% cut guranteed. And gambling elsehwere can make people happier to play your game.