I have a friend that wore out a set of mains on his taildragger in
less than a year (about 130 hrs.). It was his first year with a
taildragger and he tended to use the brakes a lot to control his taxi
speed. He's much better at it since he got the tire bill

Some flight schools teach to use the brakes for steering.
They do not pay for the brakes or tires.
I use rudder for steering unless I have to make a very sharp turn.
Cessna 172 pilot.