I am cheap, I will admit that. However, I do agree, if I had to pay at least 50% of the total cost to disable the system as compared to the price of fixing it, I would just fix it.
I check tire pressure weekly, and always adjust when the temp starts to get cooler or get warmer. Most of us here are usually mechanically savvy enough to tell when a tire is starting to lose pressure either by sight of the wheel, or by feeling the way the car handles on the road.
The motorcraft sensor is almost 50 bucks per sensor for the oem style. Valve stem style ones are about 30 bucks each.
I would be a little hesitant of the cheap ones, because I know my luck, they would break or go bad, and I would be in the same boat.