When I first started to quilt, I also needed something to tell me how many blocks, how much fabric, and how to sew everything together. But, after a few quilts, and learning how to use Electric Quilt, I can take any block, make it what ever size I want, and make a quilt as large or as small as I want, with a few clicks of my mouse. Sure, I could do the math, but if I change my mind, and decide I want to add sashing, or alter a border, I can see immediately what those changes would do to the size of my quilt, and know if it would work or if I need to change something else.
I stopped buying patterns after I learned how to use EQ, and I'm learning more and more about the program the more I use it, and can design more complicated quilts if I wanted to. So the savings in patterns alone, to me was worth the cost of the program. Plus, I am addicted to computer programs, if there is one that will make things easier for me, even if it takes some time to learn the program, I would buy the program in a heartbeat. LOL