How to do Samhain on a Budget

 It's day nine of the 31 days of Samhain and here is today's topic:

 In these hard economic times being a member of the craft of the wise can be a little hard. Some of the herbs needed for incense cost enough to power a small city for an hour (ok maybe a slight exaggeration, but close).  So here are some of the things I do to cut cost.

1) find a dollar store and become a frequent shopper, I understand some of those items come from foreign countries and we sometimes need to give them a mean side eye O_o but there can be some good finds there. I make it a point to go the local "mall" strip which contains a K-mart. and Odd Job, a dollar store and a Job Lot, and go from store to store seeing what they have here I:

•  can get soy candles for $ 1.99 and less sometimes,
•  I purchase the $ 2.00 kitchen Halloween decorations, several of them become altar clothes by laying them next to each other (no one ever notices)
• I shop later in the month for the off season candy bowls and used them as offering bowls
• gourds, pumpkins and plastic flowers can also make it easier for the next few years so that you don't have to keep buying stuff

I have a store called Christmas Tree which seems to be local here to NE, which carries everything a person could use to set-up and decorate a home.  Here I can get:

• my chalice Crystal: 3.50
• i have several candle holders I got for 1.00 some of them are seasonal, like my moon candle holder, and a small almost cauldron look like.
• I got 75 tea-lights for 1.50 which is awesome, they also sometimes have soy candles fo 2 for a 1.00

I go to the local farmers market just before I know they are going to close and ask for any of the items that are persisable that won't be able to make it back next week, sometimes they sell them to you for dirt cheap or even give them to you for free, so i can get local flowers,  sometimes hay, sometimes gourds and pumpkins (if mine haven't come in)  The gourds and pumpkins can be dried and kept for each year.  
If you can't get to the local farm, try and see if the local supermarket will give you the "ugly" pumpkins and gourds for cheap or even for free, (it depends on the manager you get sometimes they will be nice sometimes they are who they are)  With pumpkins that have started to go bad, simply throw them in an area in the garden and the next year you will have a small yield simply protect from animals and you will have free pumpkins as long as you take care of the garden (or flower pot)

Some witchy shops give coupons or sales when you attend a class or a series of classes.  or if you shop often enough.  If you buy big enough bulk you can sometimes get it cheaper.  I sometimes get my herbs in the local supermarket in their "latin" section, since I won't be ingesting these items buying them dirt cheap doesn't really bother me, it's the intent not the cost that matters.

How about doing some exchanges with friends, finding out what they have but might not need anymore. Bring items you may not need and exchange or barter for things you may need.

There are many ways in which to serve your chosen God or Goddess without going broke, as my one time teacher pointed out, the ancients did without it and managed to create a lasting belief system, you can do the same.

You can also re-purpose or use "everyday" items in your ritual and if push comes to shove, do the ceremony without it, the important part is to connect to God and Goddess not whether or not you have the right wine colored rose.

Obviously the most important cheap way is to make it yourself!! Duh there are a million ideas online to help you out, and I will be putting up some of my own ideas as well, look out for those in the next few weeks.For more ideas on how to shop smart check out, ( I haven't purchased it myself but from what i have seen there are some really good ideas here) Witchcraft on a Shoestring.  by Deborah Blake . 

Either way Blessed be my loves
Happy Samhain