I kept switching characters, too, for a long time before I had any money. Last summer I decided that I was going to get my BS to niff, so I spent a month or two saving up 60 something million for a DBSS mace. I farmed blue herbs and cakes for a lot of it (blue herbs aren't as bad because you run through two screens, do something else for half an hour, and repeat). I had a second client open at all times vending grape juice. I probably sold 3 or 400k grape juice every day. When I wasn't playing, I was also vending on my main client. When I finally got the mace, I could at least start niff, though I died a lot.
Looking back on it, I realize I did it wrong. The way to do it is to save up enough money for eddga boots/shoes (14-18 mil). Once you have them, you can greed for a priest and start getting the other niff gear a lot quicker. Once you have enough of the other gear, you can solo.