I think I mentioned that finding the ingredients can be tedious.

Make sure you have your dog's settings towards looking for ingredients, but change it to fighting for when you face bosses/tough enemies.

When you get to the desert you don't need to pay the ferryman to take you across. You can actually just walk it. It takes a little while, but it's better than grinding for money.

If you've played Secret of Mana, you'll have an idea of how the battle system works.