Sql Server Backup - Log shipping vs VM snapshot
The problem with VM snapshots is 1) they aren't the cheapest option.  They generally cost more to store than your database backups.  and 2) they don't protect you from as many things.  

To save money, just continue with your Full and Log backups, and keep a cold standby VM that you can start up and restore to in case of a disaster.  Just boot it up every couple of weeks to get patches, and test the restore process.

You can probably get this done with minimal changes to your current setup by perhaps modifying the log shipping jobs and shutting down your secondary VM.  You can bring it up every week and apply all the logs.  Then you're always just a few restores away from a complete database recovery.