Thanks very much for the replies!
That is exactly my dilemma at the moment. For me to be in the right place at the right time with the right stuff, I need to have taken out £30-40K from what would've gone to the family coffers. From what I've found out so far, going for the FI(A) route seems like a leap of faith.
Still, I figure if I spend £30K on this, and manage £6K a year, that'll be "paid" in 5 years, or 7.5 years if I guesstimate a £4K/year output. By then, I'll be in my late-30s so I guess that still doesn't sound too bad. The initial outlay just looks very scary considering the many "ifs" involved.
I guess at the very least, I need to get my PPL out of the way!
What's the best way to go about this?
a. PPL > Night rating > IMC > CPL > Instructor
b. PPL > Night rating > CPL > IR > Instructor
Or is there a third (or even fourth!) option? At which point would it make sense to add on a bit of Multi-Engine?