So much of your expense depends on how much you have. If you really have nothing and yet want to quilt, just pretend you don't have any fabric stores around. Get creative. Cut up clothes, cut up sheets, curtains, etc. Spread the word at the thrift stores that you will take stained and unsaleable cottons that they get in so that you can salvage the usable material.
However, if your standards are such that you NEED new everything and MUST HAVE cotton batting at high prices, and you MUST send your quilt out to be long arm quilted each time, after buying real quilt backing fabric at a LQS or on line, then it will be very expensive.
Most can actually do it for a bit less, however, if you lower your standards a bit. If you can't do that, then maybe quilting isn't the hobby for you unless you do "have money" or can barter with people for what you need.
OTOH, when we visit the states, while at the same time people are complaining about the crisis, restaurants like Outback continue to be crowded (where 2-$25 gift certificates was about right for my DH and I), and very often "poor" Americans are VERY overweight (in Poland, here, the truly poor are THIN--they walk around hungry--not eating even enough of the 'cheap carbs' you can buy in every country).
So, my advice to people who want to quilt, but don't have the money--reexamine your budget and see if you can cut out other things like expensive foods or going out to eat once in a while. You might actually "find" money in the budget.