Yeah, some ways to get a lot of cash early game require just spending time gather materials while you befriend caroline then selling insane amounts of saplings, I haven't doe it but I've seen some people make more than 150k in their first month by that which is really usually only otherwise achievable with more intense and semi-hardcore strats or really good rng.
So yeah, I think they are a great way, i just don't as I prefer to not put all my eggs in one basket and be lacking in summer when I could have a better overall income.