johnnyhock,
take the advice offered by scroggs. When you have decided add 30% and three weeks to everything. I mean everything. Many people have been fortunate enough not to have the school fold around their ears but still found themselves unable to finish because they ran out of funds at the last moment. Very few finish in the adverstised minimum time. That's advertising.
As scroggs says, any decent school will place your money in an escrow account and will pay you back should you decide to break off training or the school goes bust. As always, if it seems too good to be true it is just that.
But when you have made up your mind and have found the school for you, enjoy it, it will be some of the most rewarding and interesting time you will spend. I don't agree entirely with the view that the US of A is no good for training. After all, hour building is also training and that can be done perfectly well where it's cheap. There is also nothing wrong with obtaining your PPL in the states and converting. The basics are all the same, the air is the same and the planes are the same. Might as well learn how to control an aircraft for cheap.
Have fun.