I had the same deal as a student, but fuel was a bit cheaper 5 years ago so my plane was running about $35/hour. The CFI was willing to work for free to get the time as the airport was a bit out of the way and students were a bit rare. The result was substandard training and during the summer when he had enough students to keep busy it was difficult for me to get enough time to make progress. I would find a good instructor and pay them well for their work. You will actually need the knowledge. 121 training is difficult enough without making it harder on yourself by not having a good base of knowledge to work from. Just my 2 cents; paying good money is well worth it.