Slitherine

Is this because I am often short of silver? They just seem to go away.

ahhh, I don't know what happens when you run out of silver. Perhaps units are disbanded...?

As far as money, though, use the import/export screen to generate cash by selling things, or conquer a city that has silver, and mine it like crazy.

As far as "generals", plural..that may be part of the problem. Those are expensive units to keep, Vyp. I usually only have 1 or at most 2.

You do know how to see maintenance costs, right?

No I don't know how to see maintainance, I just rely on the trade status showing me how much I make vs. lose, but on the other hand I assume that if I make money on trade, it negates a negative, but maybe it happens in sequence?

Yes units will reduce in size and eventually disband if you do not pay them - check the empire overview for details.