Also, and this is probably one of the best things you can do early on, save a big chunk of money for strawberry seeds. You can buy them at the flower festival. You can't plant till summer, but they are worth every penny.
This will give you a little time to figure out your layout, but I'd honestly buy as many as you can afford to take care of energy wise. It'll take a lot of your time, and running around with low stamina is a bummer, but honestly it pays out huge once you get your first harvest, and will continue to produce throughout the season.
Also always check trash cans, you can get a bunch of free stuff you can either sell or eat. Anything from a loaf of bread to diamonds or a treasure chest.
Another thing, go into the mines if you have some free time, or if it rains, the mines allow you access to a lot of loot. Fishing holes, and is a great way to make gold, especially in winter.
Depending on how you play, meaning If you choose to save or destroy the community center, completing those unlocks a bunch of areas you wouldn't normally have like the quarry, or the desert. If you're saving the town center always aim to finish everything you can per season. For example one is 5 gold star crops of a particular type, gathering wild herbs for a particular season.
Lastly fishing can be worth the time investment as it's a great way to make extra money. Especially in the mines after unlocking the deeper levels.
Sorry for the book, but it's a really great game and has a lot of depth. I'm currently holding off my next play through until they come out with the official multiplayer servers.
Oh and corn can be harvested from summer and fall.
Also Once you get the basics down and start to improve your farm, and have some money lying around, consider building kegs and producing wine. It's highly profitable, and downright game-breaking income wise with some of the higher end fruit.
