Th reed cases are expensive, but reed holders (the plastic kind that keep them flat) are quite inexpensive, and very helpful. Though, the book Jamterry talks about, is probably already on your shelf, and, therefore, free.

Had an interesting conversation about 14 years ago with Jack Nimitz about reed care . . . Periodically, when reeds got dirty, he would soak them in hydrogen peroxide to clean them. Instead of using a reed clipper, he would place a bit of the tip over the edge of a silver dollar (this was for baritone sax reeds . . . alto and tenor players would use a half dollar or quarter) and burn it off . . . Basically, if you don't want to buy a reed case (and this is provided you don't need to transport your reeds anywhere), then clean the reed off after use and let it dry in the open air on a flat piece of glass (you can pick that up pretty cheap) and just pick up a cheap La Voz Reedguard for transport . . . It's not the way I would do it, but that should get you through on a tight budget.