Have you considered taking swimming lessons? You'd probably still have to pay for them, but it wouldn't be a monthly subscription and swim classes are (usually)

Have you considered taking swimming lessons? You'd probably still have to pay for them, but it wouldn't be a monthly subscription and swim classes are (usually) designed to teach you how to swim without drowning. In general, if you want to learn how to do something, there are probably people willing to teach you. You don't have to figure everything out from first principles.