What might be the best course of action for those without the means for formal long term instruction? I would like to become proficient someday, but I will probably have to be mostly self-taught and if this tends to yield inferior results, then...?
There are a couple of good online resources.
You could subscribe to Ryan Neil’s videos. Boon has a series of videos available to purchase on DVD, or you can buy them or rent them as a streaming device. Bjorn has some online bonsai courses.
These are all modestly priced, and have positive reviews.
Start with one of those, and see how it goes.
Once you learn a basic approach, then you will have a solid foundation upon which to grow your skills. The reason I would choose one of those guys is they have enough students to have a “following”.
You can meet other students of that master and work together, and all speak the same language.
And, once you have a solid foundation, you have a basis to judge against when looking at other videos online. Or reading blogs. Or reading BNut posts. Or even local teachers!
When I teach classes (I’m teaching one tomorrow) I tell my students that I’m teaching techniques I’ve learned from Boon. There may be other ways of doing something, but I’m going to teach what I was taught!