First off, I haven't played Final Fantasy... sorry can't help with that...
Second part, SoE offers a couple of choices in payment... I used to pay $12.95/mo for my EQ1 access but when I got EQII I bought the "all-access plan" and thats $21.95/mo... Supposedly they are going to include SWG in that price soon so it will be all access.
You can buy EQII seperately for $13/mo but why when for only $8 more you get 4 additional game accesses?
Third part, money... thats a sticky point... many people make money hand over fist in this game... I have a guildie that lives in a huge house in North Qeynos... it costs her 4-5g (not exactly sure but thats HUGE money to me) to maintain.
But then again she makes
Ash Strong Boxes and sells them for like 1gp+ each....
I have only experienced the qeynos zones...
That being said, I found that you can make money doing quests amd you get ok exp as well.
Many of the mobs have multiple quests assigned to them. A perfect example is the
CAVE SERPENT in
THE CAVES.
As you can see from following the link the serpents have many quests that require you kill "X" number of them... you can get credit 4-5x for the same kill...
That adds up fast...
I hope this helps