I mentioned that I was blessed with a large stash in other post I have made here. The majority of that stash I purchased all at one time. It too belonged to a quilting hoarder. I purchased more than 3000, yes, 3000 yards of fabric from her estate. I spent $400 and didn't put a dent into what was there. Her grand daughter generously let me choose what I wanted. I filled large black trash bags to the brim (took 2 of us to handle each bag) and I purchased 20 bags plus she threw in an egg crate full of quilting flannel and about 20 yards of Warm and natural. It took 2 weeks before I found the floor in my living room again. I have not purchased fabric since then. I have purchased some batting though. I piece together fabrics for my backings now. There were fabrics still in the bag right from the LQS! This was one of those times I would have taken out a loan for such a bargin. I now have a stash that will out live me and I have not yet run into not having a fabric that I need that is just right. So what do I do? I still make mostly scrappy quilts.
Garage sales, estate sales and the like are some of the best ways to build a stash and in these hard economic times be able to quilt to your heart's content. So asking the question How much can you NOT spend? It depends on what is at stake.