Stamp Collecting

Stamp Collecting is a hobby that many people have participated in at some point in their life.  Many kids find this to be a great first collection.  Here's a few tips to pursuing this hobby while not spending alot of money.

Save all your stamps.  Anytime you get a letter in the mail, check to see what the stamp is  There are so many cool US stamps now that you will be able to have quite a collection just by saving the envelopes.

Ask friends and family to save their stamps. (Use Facebook - If you have facebook friends that live overseas, ask them to save their stamps for you!)

Make friends with a local church secretary.  Many churches correspond regularly with missionaries around the world.  Many missionaries even send regular prayer letters to the churches.  This is a great way to collect foreign stamps!

Buy lots on Ebay  - I just did a search and found quite a few lots of 1000 US stamps that sold for less than $10.00  That's alot of stamps!  Make it even better by shopping through Mr Rebates or use money earned from swagbucks.

Try one (or more) of these free offers:  (I have not ordered stamps from any of these vendors since I don't personally collect stamps.)

• To receive a free packet of stamps send a self addressed stamped envelope to:
  
  The Midnight Soaker
  
  PO Box 51
  
  Old Greenwich, CT 06870
  
  United States Of America
• Free stamps for Youngsters - just send a self addressed stamped envelope - no membership
• Arpin Stamp Company  This company will send you free stamps plus extra that you either have to return or pay for.  I have done offers like this before but not with this company.  Just make sure you read carefully to make sure you don't end up having to pay for extras!

Do you collect stamps? What are some other ways to build your collection while sticking to a tight budget? I'd love to hear!