watch online sales. you can get sale fabric for as little s $2.99 plus shipping. the low price makes the shipping worthwhile. if you can afford to buy enough, there are sites that offer no shipping.
this is a site i use when i can. the shipping is very fair and the service is excellent. you can see how low the prices are.
http://stores.ebay.com/CROWSNESTQUILTINGFABRICS
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******NO*****.COM******)
also, joann sells their fats for $1.99 regularly.