How strange this thread has become
Very true: from getting qualified, to courses, to education, to language (full and cheaply abbreviated) and so to photographic representations. Are the avatars people use like the daemons in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy - representing the souls of the individuals concerned? My excuse for not having one - an avatar/daemon not a soul - is that I couldn't find a really good picture of a tapir.
But back to the main thread: if you are not prepared to splash the cash and go on a course, then the best way forward in bushcraft is experiment and experience. Going to a Moot will put you in touch with a host of fellow enthusiasts, most of whom would be only too happy to point you in the right direction as far as techniques are concerned. Courses exist for those of us who are too lazy (or time-pressured) to find out for ourselves as they show you a vast and useful range of ways of doing things. However, what is most exciting about the acquisition of any knowledge in this wonderful informal bushcraft curriculum is that the things you learn are only ever A way of doing it, not THE way. Ultimately, you choose what works for you. I would say that, by not going on a course, you make the journey to competence significantly longer - and that's just a staging post to expertise, a quality to which teachers should aspire. And then, there is the need to get a first aid ticket that covers the relevant aspects of the activity well...
Good luck - I hope that you have youth and energy to help you through the inevitable duff patches!