Cheap - go with plastic and mica pots. Mica pots can look "pretty good", some you actually have to touch, handle to tell if they are mica or clay. The good thing about plastic and or mica pots, you do not have to worry about the pot being freeze thaw resistant.
With the money you don't spend on "cheap clay pots", save up. Once a year, make a point of buying at least one quality pot. Pick a size that could work for a tree you do own, or might come to own. Larger quality pots will be in the $100 to $ 500 dollar range. Smaller pots, quality can be had for as little as $45 to $250 or so. Point is, set aside money for good pots. Set aside a certain amount each month, so that once a year you can get a really decent pot. Matt Ouwinga, Kaedae-en is my favorite source for Japanese high quality pots. But there are many who bring great pots from Japan.
Buying one or two decent pots a year, by the time you've been in the hobby 10 or 20 years, you will have a nice collection of good pots.