So if better crafting gear is too expensive, my advice would be to make it yourself. Making a HQ version of the set you likely have on now would get you about a 10% boost to your stats, but moving up to the level 71 set is another 10-20% on top of that(and unlike the star-recipe sets at level 70, it uses only common materials that would come cheap off the MB if you cant gather them yourself). At level 70 you should have all but the last 5 crafting skills. Look over your actions and commands window to make sure everything is slotted for you. Muscle Memory is my preferred start if im unsure about a recipe. Combine that with Name/Brand, or Observe/Focused(toggle on Final Appraisal if youre going to go over and finish the craft - its a new skill that will leave you 1 progress short), then IQ and work on a stack for byregot(waste not/basic, manip/prudent). Great strides isnt as powerful as it used to be, but its still a good boost for byregot(with potentially ingen and innovation). If youre short on CP, make sure to use food/tea for your important combines. Tempura(kugane) or Blood Bouillabaisse(crystarium) both add a lot of CP, even in the vendor approved NQ versions. Really though, playing around with it a little should help. And the advice to do some custom deliveries was solid gold. Materials for those are dirt cheap, and failing just means you buy them again for a couple hundred gil. Good luck!