Learning a foreign language

[private joker]

They say it's easier to learn languages when you're a child, since your brain is more used to soaking in that kind of communication information. The only other language I ever picked up was a little Spanish in H.S. and college, but even that I couldn't carry on a very good conversation.

But I'm thinking about picking up another language now, and the problem is I don't have a whole lot of free time to, like, go to a class at a night school or anything (50-hr/wk job, 20-hr/wk poker, girlfriend, hobbies, etc.).

So I started looking at alternatives. There are audio CDs you can buy, and I found some websites that offer tutoring tools but they are expensive -- one has a premium account that's like $165/mo. for a telephone tutor and .pdf files to download, etc.

I'm just not sure what the most thorough, time-efficient, and cost-effective way of learning a new language is -- outside of moving to another country and living among the native speakers. Does anyone have experience studying on their own to learn, and what do you all recommend? Books? CDs? Website tutorials?