I have people who give me their scraps, so my scrap quilts are actually pretty much free. I do include a few of my scraps if I want and of course purchase the thread. Sometimes I use a sheet blanket for batting that I don't use on the beds any more and those are "free" because the only other thing I might do with them it donate them to a thrift store. I inherited a lot of fabric from my mom so that is free to me. I do purchase fabric if I see something I really want but don't feel like overall I spend a lot of money on quilting. Almost any hobby costs money so I don't lose any sleep over the cost. Sometimes someone in our quilt guild brings fabrics to give away to our guild meetings and I sometimes get some there as well. You don't really need to spend a lot of money to keep quilting.