Carl, I do understand why you did not go the club route and I agree with your thought process for your situation. I do think the best way, though, to learn is to have an experienced instructor teach you. As a new pilot you can progress much faster when you have someone on a buddy box that can take over when you make those stupid mistakes that everyone does. Also that person can see what you are doing wrong and show you the right way. I remember when I was teaching my son. He always over controlled in turns. I saw he would make his roll input to the controller, and when the plane didn't react fast enough for him he would put in more roll. I broke him of this by telling him to count to 3 slowly before he could put in another input after the first. This smoothed out his turns and eventually it became habbit for him. Without me there recovering the plane when he rolled it over on its back, and me showing him the delay he would have had many "OH SH@#$" and frantic struggles to recover the plane, and probably a few crashes. Instead his progression was faster, and he had someone with knowledge giving him advice. This is the benefit of a club. You have done well with your self-taught method, and I applaud you! Just remember, you can beat the hands on experience you gain when someone is showing you how to do something rather than learning on your own.