Tlantl, not to be overly judgemental, but it seems to me that you can't plan for crap. Out in the wilderness, in dark caves, have them in a ore vein of gold, platinum, or some other rare mineral. Have them face orc raiding parties that have loot they stolen from caravans. Have your NPC party have some magic items but use some common sense and don't monty haul it.
I have been DMing DnD since the early 80's and 3.5e is my favorite version of the game. It keeps all the good old stuff while making it fun to play. 4e looks like they are removing what makes DnD from DnD.