Panny, recording yourself certainly helps, whether you're a beginner or more experienced.

As far as using a teacher goes, there's no need to have it as a weekly expense. If you go once a month, or every 2 months, or 3 months - that's fine. If you're doing really serious stuff then fine, do once a week. But if you're practising at home, every fortnight is the most often you'll need. And if you're a beginner, less than that will be fine bcos it's all about you getting your muscle memory going.

The most cost-effective way to use a teacher for guitar is to get them to fine-tune what you already know. You want them to look at your technique and say "try doing it this way", and then you go away and try it. It's better use of everyone's time, and it's a damn sight cheaper!

Graham.