Sounds to me like you should move to Illinois. LOL
Goodwill here has color sales each week. This week if the item has a black tag it's 50% off. Every Wednesday people 55 and older get 25% off.
We also have a Humane Society thrift store that clothing sells Everything-in-the-bag for $2. And it's a large paper grocery bag. There's also a church sponsored one that is totally free although if and when I go there I make a donation for each item I get.
Depending on the size of the shirt you can get about 2/3yd out of a long-sleeved 2x or bigger shirt. I cut the seams out, cut off the cuffs, yoke, collar, button and button hole strips. If the cuffs are large enough to get a 2-2 1/2" piece of fabric from and are in good condition, I save it. Same with the yoke. When cutting them up I don't remove the pocket because I might decide to leave them on when I make the quilt. The process is time consuming but it's something that I've challenged myself to do. If I had to spend the amount of money that you're talking about I wouldn't do it at all.