... Or if such mentoring can produce an income far in excess of what you spend, then it's money well spent.
I once spent $3K on an investment course, with Peter Spann. It introduced me to property investing. It's probably been worth well in excess of $1M (and growing)
This is one key way to look at education expenses. The other is to say no to upfront fees and use free/cheap resources like this forum, the many books mentioned in this thread and the info resources section and learn more independently.
You can get there either way.
Both views are valid.
The main thing is to start.
The next main thing is not to stop once you have started.
Just
Keep
Learning
And
Doing