Rusty, if you can earn, beg or borrow a smallish lump sum, it might be worth bunging it in to a low cost share in something fun like a a Cub, Jodel etc which is not likely to need a new engine, spar or whatever within the next few years. You ought to be able to shift the share to an hour builder later on if you want to get something snazzier when you can afford to.
For instance, I saw an ad at North Weald yesteday for a cheap share deal on a Pup 100 (Tiger_Moth, if you are reading this, that's not far from you in Cambridge and the Pup is aerobatic, well, sort of). There will doubtless be similar at airfields around and about.
The guy that taught me got his PPL whilst at university, and was sufficiently experienced by the end of his degree to get his instructor ticket shortly after he left university. He claims that none of this interfered with his insane drinking, or getting a decent 2.1, and I am inclined to believe him. Of course if you can get into ther UAS, all will be be fabulous, although I gather that it's not as fabulous as it was a few years ago when you might get 30-40 free Bulldog hours a year.