I find that with MF I often come home having made only four or five exposures, but all will be properly exposed and sometimes even well composed.
Seriously though, it is affordable. Old MF caneras can be picked up cheaply, and good colour negative film is available for less than £1.00 a roll from discounters like Mathers and Discount Films Direct. I usually buy short dated or (just) outdated film, and then store it in the freezer.
I usually process my own film using a changing bag and Patterson developing tank.
RGB at Middlesbro will dev C41 colour roll film for £3.00 a roll on the one hour service.
Film is most unlikely to die out within the next 25 years, so even if you can't stretch to MF now, its still worth setting your sights on for the future.