The good news is that the vast majority of people in aviation are far from wealthy.
The cost of flying is the elephant in the room. It's the most-often-cited reason why people don't take flying instruction. The bad news is that flying has never been and is never going to be what we could call "cheap," though neither is golf, sailing, traveling or most other hobbies. The good news is that the vast majority of people in aviation are far from wealthy. The secrets to the cost puzzle are setting your priorities, sufficient research and getting creative. For the record, I've never met a person who wanted to learn to fly and couldn't find a way. My mantra is, "There's always a way to fulfill a dream."