Achieve your flight training goals... 

The FAA states, to become a private pilot, a person applying for a private pilot certificate in airplanes, must log at least 40 hours of flight time, of which at least 20 hours are flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight training in the appropriate areas of operation; three hours of cross country; three hours at night, three hours of instrument time; and other requirements specific to the category and class rating sought.  Student Pilots will learn to follow checklists. Then you will begin to learn to fly straight and level, climbs, descents, then as you progress you will learn to do combine maneuvers all in preparation for moving into the Airport pattern to practice for your first solo flight. You must also pass a Knowledge test. The private pilot knowledge test consists of 60 multiple-choice questions selected from the 738 airplane-related questions in the FAA's test bank. 

To become a pilot, in addition to the requirements above, you must pass a medical exam. You must also provide evidence of U.S. Citizenship and you must apply for your Student Pilot certificate. Therefore, early on in your training, you will have some paper work to do. For the Medical, your flight instructor will guide you through the process of applying via the FAA Med Xpress Web page where you answer a series of questions. At the end, you receive a confirmation number. You will take that confirmation number to your Aviation Medical Examiner. For the application for your student pilot certificate, your instructor will assist you in applying via Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application (IACRA). IACRA is the web-based certification/rating application that guides the user through the FAA's airman application process. 

Good Question - The short answer is approximately $10,000 - $13,000 for your private pilot certificate. To go from zero time to Flight Instructor (CFI), it will run about $59,000. The long and more complete answer is: It depends on the student.

There are ways of saving money.  For Example, Fly more often in your flight training and stay current. The cost is expensive for multiple reasons. The average price of Aviation fuel is approximately $6.50 cents per gallon. You'll burn 8-10 gallons an hour during your training. Insurance on the aircraft is approaching 5000 a year. That's just the beginning. However, after you attain your first job at the airlines you'll be making 90K a year, and soon much more.