Originally Posted by Citizen Bleys
Level bard.
Seriously. Bard songs are cheap as dirt, and once you hit 40, it's a free ticket into BCNM40.
Phalanx: On Alexander, it's 150k last time I checked. Way out of your budget. It drops almost every BCNM40 for at least one member. Hell, you might get Erase or Utsusemi: Ni, which you can sell for enough to buy Phalanx
Refresh: You'll absolutely need to have that scroll on-hand when you hit 41. It also drops in BCNM40.
Dispel: One BCNM40 should pay for it. Or, you never know, you might like bard better, and Magic Finale does the same thing, for zero MP cost and the scroll is practically free. I think I got it for under 1k.
Bards are also fairly cheap to equip--you can get parties in mage gear. You'll just have to camp Stray Mary for BCNM40 (the Mary's Horn is mandatory). You don't need a Monster Signa, just get the level 40 shield with +1 CHR, the Corsette +1 (CHR+6) and your AF knife, which has CHR+3 on it. If you still have any doubts, try casting using Enchanting Etude + Ballad instead of Minne + Ballad before you pull the mandies. That should be enough to sleep them. And use boiled crab instead of Flint Caviar. It's cheaper, and you'll need the defense boost to keep yourself going against those mandies.
Just get bard to 40, BCNM yourself into mad wealth, and then buy your RDM scrolls and resume RDM with Phalanx and Refresh scrolls.