I've had a very positive ownership experience. Bought my 1962 C-182 in January of 2015 for less than 40K. It had less than 2000 TT and about 600 SMOH. The kicker was that the engine hadn't been overhauled in over 20 years, so some here told me to run away. The other negative was that it only flew about 20-25 hours a year for many years prior, and again, some told me to walk away or expect my first annual or two to be expensive. I went ahead and bought the plane. It's got 1971 paint and interior that is not terribly pretty, but the engine is strong, it flies pretty nice although slightly out of rig, achieves book speed numbers, has very basic avionics and radios, and does everything I need it to do. I do owner assisted annuals and have spent $650, $780, and $750 on the first three, plus the cost of oil, oil filter, and air filter, so you can add $150 or so to those figures. I had a cowl flap break off last year, and with some research, asking around, luck, and willingness to do most of the work myself (under supervision), was able to replace the flap and control cable for around $400. Spent about $250 on a battery last year also. Just spent $100 on a nose gear tire and tube and will replace myself. My ancient Narco audio panel quit working a while back. Replaced it with a used unit from ebay for $115. Insurance started at $900 the first year, then went to $690/yr, I suppose because I had less than 100 hrs when I bought it and they lowered it as I built time. I admit that my $720/yr hangar is cheaper than just about anywhere in the states and it's something you probably don't have much control over.
In my opinion, the best thing you can do to save money on ownership is to do as much as you possibly can yourself. Remember, we owners can do anything our A&P/IA will let us do under their supervision. So, iff you are a handy type of guy, find an A&P that will let you do things under his supervision and do it yourself. Some A&Ps are annoyed by that sort of thing, and some welcome it. In my case, I've proven to my mechanic that I can do most things just about as well as he can, and I don't get in his way. He's plenty busy or even behind most of the time, so I'm not costing him money by doing my own work back in the corner of his shop. Of course he'll inspect my work and still charge me some money, but not nearly as much as if he did it himself. As a result, regular maintenance doesn't cost me all that much. Don't be scared to jump in there if you're mechanically inclined, and remember it's just a clever arrangement of aluminum and steel with some plastic, rubber, and a little brass and copper thrown in. That said, I've been lucky not to have anything major crap our on me thus far.
I'm the sole provider of a family of 5, making less than 100K/year, and the plane hasn't been a burden. Granted we live in a cheap part of the world and in a rural community, which makes a big difference compared to more expensive places. That said, we've always lived below our means, and until we bought the plane, our house was our only debt. So if your are not neck deep in debt and make a decent living, you ought to be able to afford a C-150 or a PA-28 or something like that at least. Those things sell for less than 20K all the time and anybody can work on those. Cheap to buy, and cheap to keep if you find a decent one.
I personally don't bother coming up with hourly cost. I think it's kind of silly. It doesn't change an single thing, and just makes you cringe when you figure it up. Do you figure the hourly cost of anything you own? I don't. I suspect my old boat costs about as much per hour of use or more. Just pay what you have to pay and go fly. I don't think I'd fly as much if I was setting aside money per flight hour. I bought a plane so I wouldn't have to rent anymore. I don't want to rent from myself either
I do advocate building up a reserve of some kind. We don't do it hourly because it's a hassle. We just set aside a chunk of dough when it's available, such as tax refunds, bonuses, or if we sell something. However, I don't like to have a large reserve built up and just sitting around because that money may be more useful elsewhere before it's needed for an overhaul or whatever. I'm not a fan of idle money. If I don't end up needing an overhaul for 8 years, I might have been able to double or triple that money. To each his own.
Now, be patient and wait on the right plane to come along, buy it, go fly the crap out of it, and take it as it comes.
That's my $.02. Take it for what it's worth, which ain't much.
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