So I need to ask you: why are you responding to my posts in the first place? You don't seem interested in actually accepting the very valid concern that any gamer going from previous editions of D&D to fifth edition will find large holes in the rules where they were used to have excellent support.
To me, the apparent worthlessness of gold in the game is a major issue, and one that WotC haven't acknowledged yet.
It's a small hole created because they patched much larger holes that previously existed. Not everyone wanted monty haul campaigns with mandated magic items and NPCs covered with magical gear. People want a choice of high magic and low magic campaign that did not previously exist. The choice allows for games that could not have existed otherwise: 3e and PF are ill suited for the LotR style campaign where the players fight waves of orcs wearing crude gear, because the requirements of NPCs means they need a lot of magic at high levels and only fighting NPCs skews WBL.
Also, WotC has acknowledged the issue of spending gold; Mearls talked about what players could buy on in a few places, such as the Reddit AMA.
However, by "worthlessness of gold" and "buy something truly worthwhile and helpful" I assume you mean purchases that have a numerical mechanical increase. Those still exist in the game. Magic item shops are not mandated or even assumed, but they can still exist if you (or your DM) chooses. Players can still potentially buy magic items and load themselves down with +1 swords and armour. Only now the purchase
means something, the item provides an actual bonus instead of a theoretical one, and the character isn't spending 10,000gp to keep even with the monsters.
5th Edition D&D is a game designed for people to make their own. At the risk of being dismissive again, complaining that the rules don't support you is a little like complaining a Lego set only comes with a plane and not a car. If the game doesn't feel "just right" then tweak it in a few small ways and see if that fixes things. If your fixes require too much work, or you're unwilling to deviate from RAW, then maybe another game is more suited to your play style. We're currently blessed with an abundance of excellent games to choose from.
I'm dealing with the money problem at my own table in a different way, because my players are so used to the forced inflation of Pathfinder, getting 100gp from a monster at level 5 feels like I'm being stingy with them. It reminds me of the time my players were all Warcraft players and wanted a new magic item each after every quest.
Expectations need to shift with new editions, and that takes time and willingness to be flexible.
All that said, I do acknowledge the lack of character building is somewhat problematic. 3e and 4e really focused on allowing people to customize their characters in a wealth of different ways, picking feats, class variants, skills, magic items, powers, and the like to design the perfect character. This really was a game within a game and allowed people to play D&D on their own. I have a couple optimizers at my table who are less than thrilled by the lack of designing the game allows, and I'm saddened the DMG didn't include more "advanced character building" options. This is a major problem with 5e for some people, but I can understand the designer's reasons for the change.
