I agree with Gengis in that you can consider many ways to gain a PPL. I did it "unconventionally" ... it took me about three years but cost very very little and only about 30 hrs of power flying.
As for maintaining your PPL ... ask yourself how much the average 20 a day smoker spends out? ... funny thing is, even the poorest seem to manage this habit and accept the cost. People don't tend to say "smoking, yikes ... that's SOOOOOOOO EXPENSIVE!", they just think about the health risk, but nobody seems to bats a eyelid at the cost. Mention flying and they do say "Yikes ... that's SOOOOOOOO EXPENSIVE!" ... they often point out the percieved health risk too? something about crashing??
SS
