Scrapbooking expenses can add up. Use these tips to keep your hobby
costs low.

Be extra thrifty by making scrapbook calendars to give as gifts to
family members each year. Calendar make great Christmas gifts. There
are several ways you can do this easily. One way is to use a software
program with a calendar making feature. Many greeting card programs
also have a calendar feature. Self publishing site Lulu allows anyone
to have a professional looking, personalized calendar made relatively
inexpensively. You can have family calendars printed with important
family dates like, birthdays and anniversaries.

Keep your supplies well organized. Clear plastic containers work best
so you can easily see what you have in stock at all times.

If you know what you have in stock, then you are less likely to buy
duplicate items that might end up going to waste.

Have a swap night with friends and trade off ribbons, papers and
other items. To Paraphrase the old saying, one scrapbooker's trash is
another scrapbooker's treasure.

Shop with friends for supplies and try to buy in bulk when possible.

Keep track of how much you are spending on supplies each month, as
well as keeping a "per page" estimate.

There are many cute supplies available that can easily end up costing
you $20 or more a page! If you have that kind of budget, that's fine.
But if you don't have an unlimited supply budget, be
careful to set a monthly budget for supplies and stick to it. If you
want more supplies than your budget allows, then try to cut back in
other areas, like eat at home on a Friday night instead of going out.

Things you can put in your scrapbook that are free (or at least very
inexpensive) include:

Tickets for concerts, movies, plays, sports events, air lines, etc.

Recipes and menus

Quotes, poems, personal writings

Cards

Maps

Letters

Magazine articles and pictures

Pressed leaves and flowers

Drawings

Report cards

Letters of recognition

Promotion announcements

Invitations

Receipts

Stamps

Foreign money and coins

Postcards

and of course pictures!

It never hurts to search through thrift stores and garage sales for
unusual items for your pages.

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* Money saved in 2006: $10,000.00
* Total Savings in 2007:$13,003.51
*Money saved in 2008:$15,982.06