Now this is a very tricky question. Honestly, the answer totally depends on your goals and your self-control (with self-control being the most important factor here!). You can start collecting chips for as little as a few bucks a week. Your collecting won't grow quickly, but if you start with $1 chips, you can add two to three chips to your collection each week for as little as five dollars a week. This figure considers the cost of postage and a small percentage over face for each chip. So for roughly $20 bucks a month, you can grow your collection at the rate of a dozen or so chips a month.
Now that we've covered Fantasy Land thoroughly, let's discuss Reality. If you're a collector - like I'm assuming you are - you will likely want to grow your collection much faster than a couple of chips a week. This will be especially true at first when every chip you see you will want because you don't already have it. You'll be skipping lunch, buying generic-brand cereal, and pawning your Timex so you can have a few extra dollars to purhcase chips.
When I started the hobby, several people warned me of the "Slippery Slope". And let me tell you from experience - it's not just slippery - it's FRICTIONLESS. You become addicted to receiving packages in the mail every day. You get withdrawals when two days in a row go by and you haven't received any chips in the mail, and your spouse begins to complain about your bad mood - until you get your "fix" when a new package arrives.
All humor aside - you will probably desire to grow your collection at the rate of at least six to twelve chips per week. Assuming you're purchasing $1 chips, this will likely run you between $30 to $60 a month. Plus, don't forget the periodic expense of supplies (your binders, flips, album pages, etc.).
Again, it's all about self-control and how much of it you have. If you're able to be satisfied growing a collection at a slower pace, you can enjoy this hobby very affordably. However, if you become addicted (and you probably will), and especially if you begin collecting $5 chips, you better hope you have a big budget, because it can get expensive fast.
Contributed By: Tom Leggio