How important is a grid to you?

I'm looking to get my first big octabox (~48" range) and like everyone I'm wanting to do it as cheaply as possible. I know the "Buy right buy once" thinking but that doesn't really work for me. I'm typically "Buy good enough and see if this is even the right direction, as opposed to having a really high quality item that sits in a closet."

I was initially thinking I would want a grid but that seems to add a lot to the price. I'm first off looking at:
http://www.amazon.com …EWPA10/ref=cm_w​l_huc_item

But it doesn't have an option for a grid, I looked at the Fotodix EZ-Pro but after adding the grid I'm in a price range where I should probably jump up to the Cheetah stand RB.

Do you have a grid on your big Octa? Do you use it often? Could you get by without it?

get a grid. It makes the light so much more controllable and directional. I like my dance images to be dramatic so I use a grid exclusively to reduce spill on the background. I usually shoot with a white seamless and can make it most shades of grey because I can reduce the spill on the background.

It depends on what you want to do with the light. I use large ungridded modifiers when I want a field of big soft light over a large part of a scene. For instance doing a family group shot, or doing a white background with only 1 light. But if you want to limit where the light falls get a grid.