Also everything is so expensive. 12k to trade in for a broad sword? ouch! I wiped out my Adena 3 times over the last 2 days upgrading and buying healing potions. Of course I think the most Adena I've had so far is 6k at a time. and cumalitively maybe 15 to 18k.... Is that pretty normal?
It only gets harder from here on out. L2 is definately a money grind moreso than a level grind. Especially if this is your first character.
To start with however, you need to avoid using lots of consumables. Especially if you do not need to. And with all the instant herbs that drop from field mobs, you should not be buying so many healing potions. 'Dungeon mobs' do not drop the herbs and the game expects you to either: A) Party a Healer. B)Use your HP regen skills. OR C)Sit down and rest.
Save healing potions for *emergencies*. Don't use them to 'normally' regen your HP.
Buff potions (Alacrity, Haste, etc.) are *expensive* to spam, as their use can severly crimp your adena per kill ratio. Use these sparingly. You can get some of these from certain quests. (Usually randomly.)
Shots (Soulshots, spiritshots) are *THE* big money sink in this game. If your just grinding and spamming shots constantly, your pretty much trading all the adena that drops for faster killing. Nukers and archers are about the only classes that can spam BSPS and make a fair profit at higher levels. (Getting the adena to buy good equipment and be able to do this is another story however...) Melee however, tend to get the SS-spam shaft of poverty however. Blunt weapon users get it the worst.
There are a few 'starter' quests that have good rewards, make sure you do those. (Weapon, SS, heal pots) In fact, pretty much do every quest available in your starter town at least once. You should get enough free "Soulshots for Novices" (same as NG Soulshots, but non-tradable.) to last you until L20 and then a bit more. These are free, so you can spam those without worry. After they run out you will need to be more careful about spending cash on Shots though.
Prices on equipment will skyrocket at ruinous rates as your level rises...but it stays pretty constant until you reach B grade (L52) as long as you avoid the overpriced sell shops. Keep your eyes open as you can still find the occasional 'deal'. Otherwise, you can get to top NG with the 'exchange' option from the newbie guide or by buying from Gludin/Gludo/Dion NPC stores. For D grade, Giran's NPC armor/weapon shop will get you to second best D grade armor/weapons. The Luxury shop in Giran even allows you to purchase C grade equipment with Crystals. (D/C grade crystals) At the same time, the Blacksmith of Mammon can exchange (free) and upgrade (Not free) D and C grade weapons. (He does not help with your armor however...) He only takes Ancient Adena, so if you want to use him to upgrade your weapon, you will need to spend a fair amount of time in a catacomb grouping. For the most part, I would just go through D grade using the regular shops and only turn to mammon for upgrading in C grade. (Don't Upgrade D to C though...its cheaper to sell the D weapon and buy a C weapon from the lux shop!)
It will take time to make all the money you need however. I'd recommend avoiding those who say 'play the market' though. Doing this requires that you already have money....and be able to afford losing some of it if the market changes. It also requres you leave your computer on with a char in shop mode for long periods of time. This ties up large amounts of cash for periods of time as well.
Your best method for making good amounts of cash relatively fast is the manor. It's not a foolproof way, so research it before jumping in. And keep in mind, lots of other people already know the 'best ways' to use the manor so competition can be strong for the best seeds/fruits.
L2 is not a game you can 'just play' and expect money and equipment to fall into your lap. Once you figure out 'the system' however, its just a matter of time before your decked out in top grade equipment and rolling over the mobs.