How do you keep your spending levels UP?

from Stardock Forums
Even with heavy trading and lots of trade routes I can never seem to make enough money to keep spending over 50% without going broke. I'm just wondering how those who keep it steadily at 100% are managing it?
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Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Tech trading for money below incredible difficulty.
Do not build things with excessive maintenance costs unless you absolutely need them.
Get other races to trade with you.
Bank centers, PQ improvements, Galactic Stock Exchange.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
One other thing worth mentioning:

Things that greatly increase "production", "manufacturing", or, more obviously, social and military production, will increase the amount of spending that 100% spending indicates. So, for instance, if you pick the political party that grants +20% to social and military production, remember that at each new form of government, your social and military spending caps increase.

So the overall point is, make mental note of what your spending level is, in BCs. Then if in subsequent turns you need to decrease the %-age, note how many BCs you are now spending. You may be spending a smaller %-age, but it's of a larger whole, and you may still be spending more than before, measured in BCs.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I think one thing that helped me is not making so many productive planets. I only have a few planets producing capital ships, wonders, and TGs. In these sectors and planets I put all my +manufacturer bonuses, via starbase or via buildings. Why? Becaus you have to pay for that extra production, at least some of it. And if your planet is sitting there producing nothing, you really don't want it to be pumping out 400 bc worth of production into thin air. You'd rather waste, say 40 bc than 400 bc, right? So that's my big key. Probably one or two production planets for every 10 that I own.

The other thing is to max out trade, build many trade center starbases, etc. And of course tech whoring. Most good players do that, at lower difficulty levels. It's crazy what the AI will pay for. This does two things 1) Gives me money (obvious) 2) taks money away from them: less money = less production. So it makes it easier to compete with the AI.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Adding a little to the point made by Gibbie99 about not putting many buildings on low value planets. You need population to fill your transports so take the population from those low value worlds. Leave the few really juicy planets fully populated.