First of all, Yunru, that's absolutely gaming the system to get more cash, what sane DM is going to let you forgo a shield specifically so you can take a more expensive weapon to sell and immediately buy a shield? Second, the entire point of "fair but equal" is that not everyone has the same costs associated with running the class. That Sorcerer that you pointed out has Chromatic Orb as the only spell with a cost component until level 5 when Clairvoyance becomes an option; it might not be able to be cast out of the gate without sacrifices, but they're going to be able to afford it soon and that's their primary goal for money at that point. Meanwhile, an armor-user is going to spend quite possibly more than that on their first (of several) armor upgrades. The Sorcerer won't start getting to equivalent expenses on armor alone until L6 spells like Circle of Death. Wizards are more money-intensive, at least use them as an example because while a Sorcerer is slightly behind by your metric, they will be ahead for most of their lives and all of their lives for most games that aren't getting into super-high levels.