lowering springs are the cheap alternative, but they are only cheap for the short term. they end up weakening your struts alot quicker than usual, and if you plan on keeping your car for a few years, you save money with coils in the long run.
with my experience in lowering springs, id only use 'lows' which are a 1' drop. super lows/ultra lows which are 2', 3' are a uncomfortable ride, and damage your struts. the ride becomes bouncy and you feel every bump, with ultra's, you need to drop down to 1st gear and crab walk over anything that is slightly raised, and say goodbye to parking in garages, or shoping centres, or blabla. you might think the idea is cool, but you learn very quickly that it is very impracical. im running superlows and my tyres tuck, so im speaking from experience.