Hey ryn_destroyer,
As you progress through the tiers, costs become higher. There are ways that you can help mitigate this cost and turn a profit.
Let us go over a few ways to help make playing mid to higher tiers profitable:
First and foremost is getting Premium time if possible. As other players have said there are many different ways to acquire Premium time without purchasing it.
Doing your part: What I mean by this is contributing to the battle in a positive way (doing damage, spotting and caps are a few ways to earn credits).
Use camouflages that have "+%credits" on the camouflage. This includes: FTW, Ocean Soul, Gamescom, Hunter, and more. Just look for the camouflages that have that +% to credits earned.
Don't forget to mount the signal flags that give more credits: Zulu which is a flag earned by getting first blood.
You can also mount the "India Bravo Terrathree" signal flag for -10% cost of post-battle service.
There are also special economic signals that you can equip: Wyvern, Basilisk, Scylla and Leviathan.
These are just a few methods that you can increase credit earning, other players have listed helping ideas as well.