You may be better off with a partnership or stepping up to a higher cost
plane. The cost of ownership can be much less in a 100k plane than a 25k
plane. Your mileage may vary.

I strongly agree with the suggestion to consider a partnership. In my
experience anyone thinking of buying an airplane on even a bit of a
tight budget would do well to at least look into partnerships. Even
with three or four partners, many partner airplanes STILL don't fly
enough to keep the pilots proficient, or the airplanes well
lubricated. Truth is most G.A. pilots fly very little, and that's
even often even true about partner owners.

It really enhances economics to be dividing those fixed costs among
three or four owners. Plus, there can be social benefits and moral
support from being part of a small, cohesive group. You can end up
with far more airplane for your investment, have less risk of
financial ruin, know that you are not buying from an owner trying to
offload a problem airplane, and enjoy most of the benefits of sole
ownership. If you live in a big city, finding a partnership share to
buy is not going to be much problem. If you live in a rural area or
small town, it can be hard to find the right arrangement. I know, I
tried for about four years to put together a partnership in my little
town. Never was able to do it, and by then I was financially able to
shoulder the whole load myself. But early in my flying career I was
part of two different partnerships, and was happy in both. (One was a
thirteen member "club" with two old airplanes, and one was a four-man
partnership in an older Bonanza.)

The downsides of partnerships a Groups can have problems if one or
more members are rascals, but I haven't seen that happen myself. You
might have to compromise on availability, but again not often in my
experience. You might not be able to get full member agreement on
upgrades that you would like to see installed, such as an autopilot or
a new IFR GPS. You might not like the way some partner leaves the
seatbelts un-tidy, but heck you gotta relax about some things.

I'm sure that the thrill of flying is deep in your system now, but
there is always some risk that the excitement of it will wear off.
(Didn't happen for me, or for most of the others reading this group,
but it does happen to many weekend pilots). A partnership will leave
you feeling better in case that happens, since you are left with a
smaller nut to digest. It can make real good sense for a prospective
first time owner.

John Pierce CFII, N260F, N711WU