Don't see cycling as expensive at all, yes you can spend a huge amount of money if you want or spend next to nothing. I've bought bikes for as little as 99p on ebay which is infinitely more expensive than those who have got free bikes from freeycle etc. You can normally get those bikes going well with almost no money, a clean, some oil, adjustment etc. You can even respray them with cheap rattle can paint to make them presentable. If you use them to replace a car commute they can massively increase your disposable income making you much richer and if you use them to replace a walking commute you save yourself much time which you can use for other purposes. Not forgetting cycling may extend your life through improved fitness and lower body weight so there is a lot of value added there. Not only that a cheap bike is a use anywhere bike you can be relaxed about it being stolen because its likely not even to appeal to thieves and if it does you have lost little money. Cheap bikes tend to be overly heavy strong bikes which take more abuse too. Just making the point that not only is cycling very cheap to get into but there are many advantages to a cheap bike in functionality.