I had never bought any pre-cuts until this past year. Now I get an occasional jelly roll or layer cake from MSQC when they are 40-50% off. With shipping, that's about $25 each which I'm OK with if I really like the line. I usually ignore their charm pack deals since with shipping it's almost full price.
You might want to get on the Craftsy email list. They sometimes have great prices on pre-cuts or clearanced kits with pre-cuts or FQs.