There is no set solution to this game. It's long, even with these gold and time saving clues.
Cheating
Starting out
Try forming a party and transferring all food and weapons to one member. This is best done within the Castle, avoiding monsters with which you can't cope. Leave the town to save the game, quit out of the game and then relaunch it, delete the empty character shells, and create three more.
Gold from Death Gulch
You can save the 100 gold bribe fee and a key by entering the maze south of the main entrance. Go north at the first place you can, then straight east as far as you can, and then north to inside the gate.
Go east to the locked gate. This one requires using a key. Go south to the entry on the left side of the screen. Go west to the first north possibility, west to the next south possibility, and west again. This should put you next to a guard. Bribe him (unless you are strong enough to kill off all the guards, not bloody likely!). To the west lies a treasure area, good for about 1100 gold (about 2000 if you have the Mark of Force). It's good to have a Thief who can grab the chests, and a Cleric who can heal him. Repeat this process until you've got quite a load of gold, say 13000 or so.