I have nothing against mules and I even have a couple of them out back in my stable.
But even for those who don't understand mules or who are just philosophically opposed, there is no reason to say that purchasing an item you want is beyond hope.
There are plenty of ways to earn credit in VMK. The most obvious one and the one we all joke about here is the Jungle Cruise. Get on the boat, crash it as fast you can, get your 20 credits and get back on the boat.
Say, for instance, you have your heart set on the blue princess dress. We'll use Mal's proposed prices as a guideline and assume she is correct that Blue Ears come out with it (Or, if not, maybe you need a crown). The total outfit would come to 5,000 credit. That's 250 trips down the Jungle Cruise river. Boring? Heck yeah. But easily doable, if you really want that outfit.
(And I speak from experience. I was brand new on VMK the weekend the original space suit came out. I played that game 100 times - took a little less than 2 hours - to earn the 2,000 credits for the suit.)