Flaps on take-off and landing

Thomas Borchert wrote:

No, he can't. A long history of postings shows that's not in his
repertoire (sp?).

(Correct spelling.) That's a relief, because if you just rent aircraft,
you don't have to worry about anything but rental charges and gas,
right? In other words, insurance, maintenance, etc., are all the
responsibility of the rental agent (the FBO?), right?

I'm completely new to this, but it doesn't seem to me like owning is
such a great proposition if you're just a recreational flyer. Aside
from the cost of the plane itself (min. $50K, right?) you've got to pay
for maintenance, repairs, insurance, taxes, parking, etc., etc., etc.
The operating costs have got to pile up real fast. I don't know why a
recreational flyer would want to own. Plus, if you don't own, you can
fly lots of different planes.

As I say, though, I'm completely new to this, and this is an uninformed
opinion, so I welcome all responses.

Marc