Jeebus. Expensive.
Who knows if i'll keep flying. Although i imagine if i do, i'll want to get into my own bird.
I've got my license, had it since '06.
To at least get your license, it's cheaper to rent. Remember ownership comes with insurance (not cheap for a low time pilot), an annual inspection for the airplane each year (also not cheap), plus depending on where you are, potentially property taxes. If you don't end up flying much per year, it's cheaper to rent.
You should be able to find a flight club or FBO that rents for around $120/hr wet (fuel included) for a Cessna 172, I would think. The Cessna flight centers are more expensive due to having newer equipment. Instructor will cost you about 40/hr or so through an FBO, there are independent instructors out there.
Self study for ground school and you can easily prepare yourself for the written.
Are you looking at private, or sport?
I've looked hard at the Sport certificate and other than lesser training requirements IMHO it provides no real benefits, plus the aircraft are generally not any cheaper than a standard category aircraft. I'd go ahead and go for the private if I was you, then if you do want to buy an aircraft you'll have access to much cheaper older standard category aircraft
BTW, I got my license in HS and worked to pay for the lessons. I rented a 172 at 105/hr to do it. If I could do it then, you should have no problem with it. The cost is spread over time so it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as dropping all the ducats at once.
OH! And if you have the GI bill, you can use it for flight training. I think you gotta get the private on your own dime, but after that I believe you can use the money for instrument/commercial. Not up on the details as I'm not a vet, but it's worth looking into.
