As everyone has said, one key is to accumulate your own equipment. Haunt Craigs List and ebay; ask questions here or of friend to see what gear is worth buying. Once you get rid of rental costs, your cost to dive goes down significantly.
Charter boats cost money. I believe the "good" diving off NC is all boat diving, but does that mean that's all the diving there is? There may be lakes or bays where you can dive, and perhaps the water isn't as clear or there aren't as many fish, but you are still diving. As a beginner, everything you see is new to you, so you don't need to spend money to get to the "best" locations.
I kind of disagree with Rhone Man . . . diving isn't a free sport, and perhaps bicycling is cheaper, but on the scale of things you can do with your free time, shore diving is still in the fairly inexpensive range. When you consider what a concert ticket costs, or a dinner out, or even a moderately nice bottle of wine, $25 for a day of diving isn't that bad. Where diving hurts is when you have to rent stuff, or when you are paying charter fees.
Charter boats cost money. I believe the "good" diving off NC is all boat diving, but does that mean that's all the diving there is? There may be lakes or bays where you can dive, and perhaps the water isn't as clear or there aren't as many fish, but you are still diving. As a beginner, everything you see is new to you, so you don't need to spend money to get to the "best" locations.
I kind of disagree with Rhone Man . . . diving isn't a free sport, and perhaps bicycling is cheaper, but on the scale of things you can do with your free time, shore diving is still in the fairly inexpensive range. When you consider what a concert ticket costs, or a dinner out, or even a moderately nice bottle of wine, $25 for a day of diving isn't that bad. Where diving hurts is when you have to rent stuff, or when you are paying charter fees.