Don't spend your money in the game. I think there's an algorithm to identify who spends money, which lowers the number of lives you get for certain levels. I've been stuck on level 3827 for a while and I only get 12 lives when I start. I've watched several YouTube videos of this level, one as recent as 2 months ago. They all start with 22 or more lives. Maybe it's really is time for me to uninstall the game.