Strange that people here seem to get all uptight and "if you cannot afford the books, don't bother flying at all" - which is ridiculous.
I think the sentiment is that if your current earnings v outgoings are such that you can't even afford to buy new books, then its unlikely that you will be able to afford to fly - even if you've saved up enough to pay for the license.
I can understand that, and thats one of the reasons that many (like me) don't take up flying until 'mid life' since that's when they have the disposable cash to make it feasable.