Pilot DAR wrote:"I have found that the only low cost way to fly, is to own the plane, and keep it very close to home. Though doing so only reduces costs somewhat, at least you fly it lots, and get your money's worth out o (sic) the investment!"
Agreed, although initially I think it is better to buy a share in a local aircraft. Ideally, in the UK, this should be a permit aircraft because they are much cheaper to maintain if you (or other members of the group) do most of the work and cheaper to run if you can use unleaded petrol.
However, I think you really need to decide at some point soon if you really want to go commercial. Personally, I am glad that I have always had a job that paid enough to enable me to fly as a hobby. So, apart from a few hundred hours instructing in 3-axis microlights, I have always been able to decide when and where to fly (weather permitting), latterly in my own permit aircraft.
If you do decide you want to get paid for flying, I understand that you can still instruct without a CPL, although you will still need 200 hours in SEP (incl. 150 PIC) before you can start an Instructor course. You could also start a microlight instructor course (which is cheaper) with less hours but your microlight hours will not count towards commercial minima. However, do not dismiss this because 3-axis microlights, in particular, are now very capable machines and there is the possibility that the weight limit will be increased from 450kg to 600 kg in the future. And I believe that you still get paid at least as much as for SEP instructing!
PS If you are thinking about going down the instructing route, consider carefully if you will enjoy teaching and going round the circuit for much of the time!