Greets,

You shouldn't have a major problem with that number of planets. Red is indeed negative, and green is positive as you rightly pointed out.

For trade, check your research tree. You'll have to research the tech that allows you to build trading stations.

Don't forget to build the population cap upgrades on each planet too. That should stop any negative income you're getting from them when you have a low number of planets close to your capital. (Click the planet, click the planet upgrades icon - first on the list, then click the little icon that looks like an outline of a person). If you hover over the population cap upgrade, it should show you in the little pop up what your income is from that planet and what it'll be after the upgrade.

There's other factors too, such as allegiance, as when that falls, so does the planets income. That shouldn't be affecting you so early in the game though.

If you find yourself losing cash, sell some resources on the black market and get thos planet upgrades up and running, then research trade centers once you're established

like the others have stated..you just havent upgraded them yet...once you do they will come out of the negative. if you would like..you should try playing a coop game online with someone and let them show you how to play some..get some instant help while you play for any questions. its one of the best ways to learn fast

tutorials? thats like a man asking for directions or reading the instructions on how to put something together >.<