Hey!
Thanks for reporting this.
At the moment, new players receive starting troops that consume money and food in real time, even if you don’t play right away. That’s why your cash could drop into the negative — this isn’t the intended long-term behavior.
i'am already working on a fix. New accounts will get starter upkeep protection, so your army won’t drain money while you’re just getting started or offline.
fix is on the way