There is a great deal of enjoyment to be had in chipping without investing huge amounts of money.

1. Know your limitations. When I started chipping, I set a limit. Never more that $10 for a chip. To this point I have exceed that limit only twice.
2. Make a budget. (This is most definately a case of not practising what I preach. I couldn't stay on a budget if my life depended on it).
2a. Put something in reserve for that "GOTTA HAVE" chip. This way you avoid winding up with no food and three days 'til payday.
3. If married, don’t steal from the ‘general fund’ without your wife’s knowledge. No hobby is worth damaging a relationship. Work out some kind of arrangement with your spouse. In my case, I was working six days a week. The wife and I agreed that M-F went into the general fund. Saturday’s earnings were MY MONEY.
4. Specialize early. No one can collect all of everything. It can even be difficult and costly to collect all of one thing. Pick an area or type of chip and pursue it(Justin Ferris).
5. With anything over a few dollars value, study what you are buying, research the value, don’t pay more than it’s worth(Sheldon & Christine Smith). If buying at auction, make only one bid for the actual value of the chip (or the maximum you are willing to pay). Don’t get drawn into a bidding war.

Inexpensive ways to get chips.

They usually don’t come any cheaper than at the casino. If you go to a casino where you can buy chips at the cage ( I’m not positive, but I don’t think you can do this in Illinois :-) ), tell the cashier that you are a collector and that you’re looking for new/clean or unusual chips. Occasionally you will be rebuffed. But you’ll be amazed at how often an overworked, underpaid employee will make an effort to find the good stuff for you. Once you have the chips out of the casino, don’t take them back to gamble or trade in. They’re much more valuable ‘on the street’ as a part of your hobby(Brian Cashman R-1121).

When buying new chips at a casino ALWAYS get extras to use as traders(Mark Cotton R-5355). Trading is the second least expensive way of obtaining chips. Make trades on Chipboard.com or at local chipper meetings(Gregory Bryson)

Make an effort to network with as many other collectors as possible. Whether local, in another state, or on another continent, a friendly contact in the right place can prove invaluable. Create a ‘favor bank’ by offering help to others BEFORE requesting help.

Shipping charges and insurance.

If you are buying mainly $1 chips, shipping and insurance charges can eat up a very large portion of you chipping budget.

Some ways to minimize the amount going into shipping. A. Buy chips offered in lots of 4, 5, or 10 chips. B. When buying one chip at auction, see if the seller has other chips that you want on auction at the same time. Most sellers will combine shipping charges.

Insurance is not worth the cost (IMHO) for shipments of less than $50.

P.S. If anyone disagrees with anything I post here, PLEASE let me know (polite and constructive criticism is always welcome) so that I can make corrections. I want to create an informative document of proven, helpful facts, not just a list of my personal opinions.