I agree, don't cut your springs. I've also done it in the past and although it did get the right results (ride height, appearence) the cut springs never sat correctly on the seats and ended up damaging them. I then need to replace the whole strut and buy new springs to top it off.

Even popular brands of lowered springs don't go for that much. Just shop around. I got a full set of lowered Spax spring for a G100 Charade for $120. Fitting was free as I did it myself and wheel alignment $50 odd.