For feedback on the starting gold, I'd say it should come down to simple calculations. Something along the lines of Encounter Rate + Win Rate = Average Daily Gold, and comparing that to the debt payment amount. This would of course have to scale with the purchase of equipment and unlocking harder and more valuable encounters. It should be possible to come up with a rough average chance of being able to hit the debt payment and compare how likely you'd want that chance to be, though you may also want to consider the amount of gold left over for the player to spend for events such as the dog and in survival daily necessities.
As an experiment ran through the game four times. Standard 1: I never purchased anything and only explored the Jackbunny Plains, ending up with 160 gold. Standard 2: I purchased equipment at the earliest opportunity and began exploring in the Goblin Forest once unlocked, ending up with 245 gold. Survival 1: Same playstyle as Standard 1, I had to purchase biscuits once to avoid starvation, ending with 110 gold. Survival 2: Same playstyle as Standard 2, purchased biscuits twice, ending with 220 gold. It should be noted that for Survival 2 I nearly died due to not having the money to pay for biscuits at the start of a starvation day, though was able to by the end by defeating three goblins.