Brian
Welcome to the best type club in aviation. I can't add too much to what has been said so far. I went your route and bought an aircraft for my own training. It has been good to me for the past 3 years. I would have to say that renting is the less expensive and financially risky way to go, this is especially true if you don't fly a good bit during the year, say more than 70-80 hours. Having said that I can't over emphasize the value of having YOUR airplane available to only YOU on the nicest flying days of the year and not being bumped on the A/C schedule because some Ace waited until the last minute to get his BFR. In addition if you plan trips you don't have the added pressure of gotta get the plane back which at least takes the fun from the trip and at it worst can, if you let it, become a safety issue. Most of the advice given in this thread is the same advice I received when I joined the 150/152 club. I took the advice from knowledgeable folks seriously and matched it to my own goals and I can say I'm truly happy with the results.
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