c-bert
As a humble public servant, I sympathise with your predicament. Funds, wife, child etc - all designed to ensure moderation in my newfound hobby!
Just to keep your practice up, do you know any qualified PPLs who are happy to take passengers/students flying? Quite a few people seem to blog a little extra (unofficial) time at the controls by that method. Even if they won't let you fly, they might be happy for you to navigate etc. (Can't wait to get onto x-countries now!!!)
Flying as you do, from S'oton, maybe there are some ATPLs around who like to do a little recreational flying and would be prepared to share costs?