During your leveling process build up a bank account. Buy your stuff, don't immediately use it, play your classes strengths and be smart about it to get your kills and have fun, even as a peasant. This eliminates the grind because even as a peasant you can get kills.
At around lvl 22 using this tactic with my medium cav lancer I am able to use a full set of the armor I want to, my courser, long great lance, a war spear, and a shield, twice. I fluctuate around the same amount of bank roll i have since I began using it. Sometimes I lose more, sometimes i gain way past the amount.
Just because using math you "bleed" money overtime doesn't always translate to going bankrupt in game. The upkeep system was built to MAKE the heaviest armors and most expensive gear in the game become a money pit, it was the whole point. Medium to heavy is still quite usable in a permanent fashion, and with a bankroll built up over an hour or two of heavy play it works out just fine. Even if your math shows that you will be losing money over time rather than gaining it, so what? Who ever said that you should ALWAYS be moving up in money once you reach the top tier armors and other items? There are several people in servers who are actually complaining because they have all this gold now and nothing to use it on. Well, use it on top tier items and have some fun!
FUN people, that is the bottom line. PLAY THE GAME TO HAVE FUN. Stab people, maul, maim, make them your bitch. Have some lulz doing it and enjoy your playtime rather than grind until your eyes bleed. If reaching that next level, grinding your heart out to gain every little bit of an advantage over your enemy, and sleeping for only 2 hours a night while surviving on hot pockets and top ramen is your cup of tea, well, then you're playing the wrong game. Might I suggest World of Warcraft or some other generic boring grindy MMO.
