New to all this - need some advice and answers

OK, this is going to be a rather long post since I have quite a few
question and they are all over the bloody map here. I know most of you
have gone through this sometime and while I do expect I'm not
necessarily going to hear what I want, I'll definitely hear mostly what
I need..

Bear in mind, I'm completely new to this - decided to go and get a PPL
and work on additonal certifications here (instrument and commercial -
mainly for lower insurance rates).

The problem for me is the time I can dedicate to this - I am a
consultant and travel 4 days a week (mostly to East Coast projects - I
live just south of Denver), so this will not be a commuter aircraft -
unless I move to Richmond, Savannah or Charlotte in the next couple of
years, in which case I could probably use it to back and forth betwen
projects and the house.

First of all, I started doing some analysis and decided on buying a
plane instead of actually renting one. Has anyone done the actual
comparison on totoal cost of ownership and the actual cost of renting
an aircraft?

My target (first) plane is a C-150/C-152... something IFR (instrument
rating is definitely a goal for me)... not a heck of a lot of hours
SMOH, low STOH, as long as the aircraft has been well maintained TTAF
is not that much of an issue (provided is not way over the top here)...
I would say price is going to be anywhere between $19K and $23K
(depending on year and over variables)... (am I on target here or way
off?)... Speed is not an initial consideration here, I want to build
the hours and get the ratings before I move up to something more
"exciting"...

I figure I'd keep the plane for a couple of years - log a couple
hundred hours on it and sell it to buy another plane (a C-172?)...

Few questions:
1. Are my estimates around the right range?
2. What can a no-rating owner expect for insurance per year on a
C150/C152 here?
3. Maintenance... Tricky, I know... but what are the average cost on
annuals?...
4. What should I look for here?
5. Additional little questions:
a) hangar cost - what do you all recommend here? Hangar? Tie-down?
b) landing fees - how do these work
c) who do I talk to at a local airport (KAPA is closest to
Highlands Ranch) to find out about these?

The reason I have to ask all these is to pacify my CFO (aka. wife) as
to the costs related to flying...

Also, did anyone have issues with their life-insurance? I believe mine
can be cancelled if I do "extreme" sports (flying is listed here, as is
parachuting)... Funny thing is that this is done regardless of whether
I die flying (or practicing these sports) or not. So, on that side, is
there a pilot-friendly or pilot group insurance available to pilots?

So... any advice you all (nope, I'm not from Texas) can throw me, I
would appreciate it... Also, lessons learned and gotchas would be
nice...

Yeah - this can be fun.

Rom