I just started FFXI a few days ago, and already my RDM is lvl 14 (Thanks to Enkidoh's assistance, still... fighting a Greater Quadav, and then have a Grenade join in, cause it was agro? Grrrrrrr....), and I'm starting to lvl up my BLM in Windurst.

I admit, I am annoyed about how the prices for armour, weapons, items, etc for Midgardsormr are so damn high. I'm not gonna let that stop me from enjoying the game, but...

I'm not a fan of MMORPG's, and was even hesitant to play this. However, in hindsight, I'm glad I did.

However, I'm finding it a little hard to still get my bearings regarding this world. If anyone can give me in tips and advice on how to get the most enjoyment out of this game, I'll appreciate it.

Find a niche for yourself, and exploit the hell out of it to get as much gil as possible, and then move on to the next venture...

Of course, I could never dream of starting from scratch again in FFXI.
My only advice is that you should never get too wrapped up in it and feel like it's a job.

One thing that I found worked quite well for me was to farm the hill in N. Gustaberg that has Stinging Sophie and a bunch of bees, as well as other stuff. Farming everything there can give a good amount of gil, and you can also level up (lower level jobs) off the hornets if that's your thing.

If you do a lot of research, on teh intraweb and your auction house, you can find something that works for you. Another option is going into crafting, but that requires a good amount of capital first.

Thanks for the tip. I admit I am rather annoyed at how the economy for the Midgardsormr is annoying. I managed to kill quite a few Crawlers and have 3 stacks of silk thread on Windurst AH... unfortunately the price has dropped steadily (According to others I've spoken with) to around 11,000 gil a stack.

I've found some good quests which reward a decent amount of gil, and the good thing is, those quests are repeatable.

On a side note, I finally levelled my RDM to 15 and BLM to 10, and managed to take Spiny Spipi out for a second time and got myself the Mist Silk Cape, an essential item for any low level Mage... so I've been told.

So, my NM kill list reads as :
Spiny Spipi (lvl 11 RDM, assisted by lvl 41 WHM. Reward : Silk Thread)
Tom Tit Tat (Lvl 12 RDM, solo. Reward : 4 leaf Mandragora Bud)
Tom Tit Tat (lvl 14 RDM, solo. Reward : 4 leaf Mandragora Bud, 2 leaf Mandragora Bud.)
Spiny Spipi (lvl 15 RDM, assisted by lvl 41 WHM. Reward : Silk Thread, Mist Silk Cape).

I'm a bastok guy, but my preference is to kill worms and those sproutling type things, as worms drop zinc ore and silver ore, which sell pretty good(and fast), and the sprouts drop seeds, which can go for 30+k/stack. If you didn't know, you can go to http://ffxiah.com and check jeuno auction house prices from the web, including history, average, etc.