The main issue is the fixed cost of owning, which is heavily
influenced by where you live, what airports and maintenance facilities
you have accessible to you, and your own skills.

Hangar costs range from $50 to $1200/month. In most climates, having
a hangar will in the long run pay for itself if not too expensive,
with reduced wear and tear on the airplane while it's sitting around.

Insurance cost can be reduced by purchasing a lower cost plane,
getting your hours up, and getting an instrument rating.

Maintenance cost is a little bit like hangar cost - airports with
expensive hangars tend to have expensive shops.

So - if you can locate a small nontowered airport with reasonable
hangar cost, a mechanic who is familiar with your type of plane and
doesn't charge you $2500 just to open it up for the annual, and locate
a clean older airframe, you CAN enjoy ownership. But you do have to
have the resources to handle at least one major repair bill on a used
airframe. For the pre-purchase inspection, search diligently for
evidence of corrosion - this tends to be the biggest driver of major
repair costs.

One other approach on purchase price is to look for airplanes with
recent damage history. There's nothing wrong with these if they have
been properly repaired, and many buyers will not touch them (the
"virgin" complex) so they often sell for significantly less. You will
also get less when you sell it, but if you buy a plane that you can
live with for a number of years, the damage effect wears off over time.