Real Flight is a very good simulator. I learned a lot form this. After flying several hours on the sim I had maybe an hour on the buddy box before I soloed.
Also I learned to fly helicopters with this. And I never really crashed one. Just scuffed some blades once in a while.
The money on the simulator is well spend - one crash costs more then that.
Most important - don't let anything or anybody discourage you. If you want to fly rc planes, go for it.
It's a lot of fun, you meet great people and learn a lot if you join a club.