Pravoka... that's FF 1, IIRC.

The trick with magic is to know when to use it. Most people seem to have the opposite problem- they're so worried about running out, they don't use it when they should. Regardless, if you are running out all the time, you probably don't need to be casting fire on forest imps or other monsters your fighter can dispatch easily.

If you're going into a dungeon, you should conserve more. If you're wandering around outside a city that you can walk right back into, blast away, commenting to those around you "I love the smell of LIT in the morning... it's that smell, that... ozone smell... it smells like... victory."

FF 1 isn't particularly kind on the Gil front, but there shouldn't be anything that you are going to have too much trouble with that early on, even if you only have mediocre equipment- my first run through, I marched right into Pravoka, dealt with the little problem there, and moved on to elf land, where ogres roam the plains and inflation is rampant.

Though, many people when reaching elf land take some time to sit around and level up in the plains outside of the city. You could stand the levels before moving on.