True, mining is a good way to get gold early, forgot about that.
Skinning and Herbalism are no money maker (only later when you can pick
higher level herbs) but mining is for sure a good way to make cash.

Guess it doesn't help that my alts all have crafting professions as I
really like to create stuff. Invested around 3000 gold to get
blacksmithing from 250 to 300, after 300 it became cheaper and I can now
easily keep it up while leveling. The last remaining points will become
expensive again, but I don't plan on that yet, just want suitable gear
while leveling and it's good enough for that right now.

None of my alts makes enough money to even pay for the mounts, I always
farm that with my level 70 warlock. The Paladin was a gold sink in terms
of getting blacksmithing up. I did many instances with him (as tank) and
bought good gear for him in the AH to keep him in top shape.
My hunter is an engineer and already lacking behind, yet I've never
invested in gear for him but he's currently broke. He's no miner, so he
either buys stuff or gets leftovers from my paladin.
I'm leveling a new warlock (25 - tailer/alchemist) with all points in
destruction currently. He needs a lot of pots, bandages and food/water.
Pretty expensive char so far and not able to fund himself.

Might be more suitable to just take gathering professions and level a
crafting professions later, but I like to create gear while I can still
use it.

Dirk

I started playing on Agamaggan as Horde, and on the advice of people in
Barrens, started a hunter.  At 27th level, he also had around 150g (I think
it was more), and had basically supplied the first character with the money
needed to get decent gear on AH.  And the hunter also had netherweave bags
and a few extra bank slots as well.

I got a lucky blue drop too (Orb of... something), but sent it to the
warlock I had created, as he could have used it when he got high enough
level.

I know that copper bars sell for more than copper ore, mainly because not
everyone has the mining to smelt it, and the people who are learning
Blacksmithing and Jewelcrafting and Engineering without Mining don't want to
dink with smelting it.  Same with bronze bars, iron bars, etc.

I know Jewelcrafters can use ore for Prospecting, but apparently not many of
them do that.

Because of item shortage in my regular servers, I've found that wool and
mageweave sell for more than silk and runecloth.  Going to Jintha'Alor in
the Hinterlands just became VERY profitable.  Not only can you pick up TONS
of mageweave cloth there, but also Wildvine and Flasks of Big Mojo are also
very profitable.  And there's a couple of mithril nodes there, too.

Gem drops you can replenish if you get a jewelcrafter and some ore.

I tend to keep an eye on the AH, and if I see an item that's usable at or
near my level that's a clear upgrade from what I've been using, and is
decently priced, I'll snatch it up.  Heck, if it's decently priced and it's
not something I can use (or is worse), I'll still snatch it, and resell it
for a profit.  Sometimes that backfires on me, but usually it gets me at
least twice what I paid for the item.

Too many people want to just play the game and not have to worry about
wandering about looking for ore deposits or skinning their kills.  Too bad;
it's essentially free money.

My advice for anyone I see begging for money in the streets is usually:

1) Get Auctioneer.  I cannot stress how much this helps in using the auction
house to make lots of cash.

2) Get at least one gathering profession, two if you want lots of cash.  If
you want to make lots of money with a crafting skill, go Herbalism and
Alchemy.  If not, get Mining and either Skinning or Herbalism.  There are
good areas in Elwynn Forest or Durotar for mining copper.  (If Horde and
they have BC, I tell them to go to Eversong Woods, where you're almost
literally tripping over copper everywhere.)

2a) Remember that other things you gather sell decently.  Small eggs are a
great starting cash cow, and in Eversong Woods every crazed dragonhawk
(almost) drops 1 or 2.  I sell them for 50s a stack of 10 (1g at holiday
time) and I've yet to have to relist a stack.  Linen cloth is also a decent
seller, at around 15-20s a stack (possibly higher).  And of course, sell all
your gray 'vendor trash' as you can.  (If you're dumping it to make room for
something that sells better, fine and dandy, but it's best to sell that VT
_and_ get the phat lewt too.)

3) Wander around and learn the lay of the land.  Don't EVER ask for
directions.  You find some of the neatest stuff in out-of-the-way places.
And Gatherer (part of Auctioneer) will record all those resource nodes you
find.)

4) Don't worry about getting greens or blues.  Do quests for gear, if you're
poor.  You can get all the way to L70, solo, using gear you've earned from
quests only.  You don't HAVE to have AH gear, but it's nice to have.

5) There are three starting zones (four with BC).  Learn them.  Learn how to
get to them.  You can easily, with no grinding involved (save for
quest-related grinding) get out of a starting zone around level 15, if you
do all the quests.  You can then go and do more quests in another starting
zone.  By the time you're done you'll be very well geared and more capable
of handling the next zone up.

-Jobbles

Absolutely..
I had a group member in Rmaparts a while ago. He was around level 62
or 63, I don't recall now, and I didn't inpect his equpped items.

We finished the run and he asked for "Donations to help me get my epic
mount".

Now, ok, 640 gold is a fair amount (or was) at level 60, but by no
means difficult.

I asked him what professions he had chosen, assuming that we had some
crafting ones like Blacksmithing or Engineering (He was a warrior) to
make things to use.

Turns out he had none. Not one. Only First Aid from the secondaries.

What do you do with all the stuff you get from drops? I ask.. I vendor
them, mostly, he says.

Sometimes you just want to grab people by the shoulders and shake
them.

I told him to go back to orgrimmar and train herbing and Mining. Then
work his way back to the Blasted Lands, walking, mining and picking
everything he saw.

Maybe he's still at it..