In all honesty I didn't read all these replies to see if this has been said..but I'll say it anyway.
I think building is part of the hobby. Crashing is part of the hobby. You almost have to put "your baby" in that special section of your mind...the "I don't care section"....even though deep down you do care...if that makes sense.

At my club, which I haven't joined yet, but have visited as a non-member....I am new....I was told by several people that students can be taught to fly routinely without ever crashing their planes. Obviously, any RCer whos been around for a while has had several crashes. But I think with a good instructor, a good stable trainer (LT-40), and the ability to take things slow and be thorough, the chances of crashing your plane are small enough to not lose too much sleep over.

Also, like I said above, building is part of the hobby, at least for me. It just wouldn't be the same for me to buy an RTF. But if you build a kit...you'll know it like the back of your hand. Which means if you do crash it, just fix it up again. You can buy the parts for the LT-40 separately. You can reconstruct the wings or anything else that snaps. You can also buy sheet balsa and cut out the parts, but its tougher that way.

Also, I know you are a beginner....so am I...but eventually you can get a couple or three planes. That way if one is in the maintenance hangar, the others are still on the flight line. But that doesn't really apply to us tight budgeted beginners....but it is great in theory.