If I was doing it all over again, I would not wait to turn 38yo to start my PPL training.
I started training at age 15, soloed a C150 at 16 (plus zero days) but didn’t pass my Private check ride until age 39. Flying has been a slow, life long experience for me, and other than a few discrete steps (like buying a plane before I had a pilot certificate) I didn’t plan or do anything in particular to get wherever I am. I bought my second plane much like the first one, because owning it looked like it would be fun. I never planned the costs other than to make sure they would be relatively low, and well within what I could afford. As a result I don’t know what I would do differently, and can’t answer the question clearly. It’s not much different than trying to say how I would learn to walk differently.
Flying and owning a plane is not a means to an end for me, it is an end in itself that had no clear starting point and has no agenda other than to do whatever I can do what what I have. Almost everything else in my life is a ‘program’ and my flying is not, it’s an escape from regimentation in that regard.
After the PPL, I wondered for years about getting the IR but overall I think it was a good idea not to get it. I wouldn’t be able to stay current now, or it would have forced into a certain lifestyle.
I wondered too about entering a GA lifestyle : moving close to the airfield, buy a cheap plane or even a project and spend all my time & money flying or working in a hangar.
But I chose to put God first in my life and never regretted it.
The only thing I would do differently is : instead of trying to make EuroGA main meetups, I should have taken 10 days with a plane, alone or with another pilot, and make a big flight trip where weather would allow, as far as possible from my usual zone (somewhere like Portugal, Poland or Norway). Not trying to discourage young members Peter 
I would have spent time with a friendly mechanic to clearly understand what every component of the propulsion system does and how various malfunctions impact operation of the aircraft.
I would also have paid better attention to the human factors training, as I pushed the boundaries too far on several occasions. Humility is indeed worth more than most other attributes for a pilot, ‘old, bold pilots’ and all that…
Finally, I would have been friendly to the old-timers when I started. I was too arrogant when I started, and only now do I understand that the people I meet are half the privilege (and enjoyment) of flying…
