It looks like all these responses are similar in a lot of ways. I'll add my 2 psi anyway:
1. I'm not poor. My job as a machinist/tooling technician puts me right at the median income for my local area. I think my current career situation is a combination of luck, effort and good choices. I've certainly made a lot of bad choices, too, but I guess they must not have been all that terrible or else I wouldn't be where I am today. Or maybe that's where the luck comes in.
2. Our expenses are low, besides SCUBA. We (hardly ever) drive a $1000 car (I bicycle to work). We have no cable, a 17" TV, a ten-year-old computer, no cell phones, no pets, no kids, minimal insurance, and a way-too-small-for-two-people house that is rented, not owned, and always cold in winter. We only go out on special occasions, or maybe another way to look at it is, when we go out, it's a special occasion. We get our clothes, furnishings, dishes, etc. from the thrift store.
3. While we have been able to take a few trips, it's starting to look like this year we'll either not go, or just go snorkeling. At any rate, we don't get to take the great trips nearly as often as we'd like. But I can understand how it looks to someone who's never been yet. I remember what it was like before I ever took any overseas trips; it was hard to imagine me being able to do that myself. Over time, I was actually able to either save the money or get the credit to be able to go overseas, and now I guess I've done it five or six times. Still, every year I get to a point where I wonder if I'll ever be able to afford it again.
4. Most of our diving is local. While we are climbing out from under the debt of buying all our gear, at least now that we have the whole kit it only costs $13 for two fills for both of us to have a one-dive day (plus maybe $5 in gasoline).
5. Like many others have said, it's all about choices. There are a lot of other things, like guitars, motorcycles, restaurant meals, music CDs, etc. that, every day, I choose to go without so I can dive. I'd really love to have a car that was quiet enough to have a civil conversation in at highway speeds, a fretless bass and amp, and a Buell XB12. But if I had those things I couldn't also have my own steel cylinder and custom-fit drysuit. Also choices like renting a dump close to work instead of buying a nice house out in the suburbs, or moving to an area close to good year-round diving. Staying in school would have been a good choice, but I didn't do that one. I bet I'd have a rebreather by now if I had my engineering degree, though.
Anyway, your post really reminded me of those days before I ever did or had any of this stuff, and I can relate to the feeling that some things are out of reach. Don't give up, though! I'm glad I didn't, and sometimes it's hard for me to believe I've done and seen some of the stuff I have. And I still often wonder if I'll be able to do it again. What's really cool is how, if you want something bad enough, you find ways to make it happen. Just don't give up on your dreams because they seem too far away.
