While it is not impossible to teach yourself to fly you will have better odds of doing it cheaper and with more fun in the long run are by joining a club and getting with an instructor. Most clubs provide instruction at no charge to members. You may locate a club through www.modelaircraft.org in their charter club locator section.
I'm not at my usual computer and this one is rather slow but others will list good basic trainers for you. RTF and kits come out very close in cost for the first plane due to the tools you may need to purchase. I might suggest something like the Alpha 40 RTF as a good start.