Todays Cost of getting a PPL

Blanche wrote:
I took 4 years and 4 CFIs. But in my case I had funerals, surgeries,
out-of-town trips for work, being p*ssed at the original school,
and so on. There was a period of 6 months that I didn't fly at
all.

You aren't that unusual in that regard. Four years is long, but after
working at the flight school, it isn't that uncommon for people to have
their training interrupted by other things and for the process to go far
longer than planned. Not everyone finishes in what is thought to be the
"usual" timeframe, even if that's the optimum way, and it isn't always
due to incompetent CFIs. Other things just get in the way, despite the
best intentions.