hi, I’m on a very tight budget and limited funds but need to put an alter together, it’s my first one and I don’t really have a method of paying online, can anyone contribute cheap or unwanted stuff I can use?
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Being pretty newish myself I don’t have any unwanted bits yet, but great news - some of the most beautiful altar items are natural/handmade! You probably have some of the stuff below already!
If you think of representing the elements:
- Earth could be a plant, flowers, crystals, herbs, stones, salt, or even soil/dirt!
- Air could be incense, a bell/drum/other instrument, or feathers you find outside!
- Water is often a bowl/chalice of water - I just have a shell of water!
- Fire tends to be a candle
I hope this helps a bit 
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I use things that I find mostly. My altar cloth is a deep plum hand towel, shells from the beaches, shot glasses for candle holders, when I was really new I used birthday candles that I found in a drawer in my kitchen… when I did start purchasing things I found things that were on sale or clearance or I had some kind of discount code or gift card to a site or store. A friend of mine got her jars at the dollar store for her herbs and when I first started I used plastic sandwich or snack bags.
I hope some of this helps you find things that you already have to use for now.
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Chiming in with more low budget suggestions!
You don’t have to have any tools. They can be helpful but they’re not necessary. Your athame could be a letter opener or kitchen knife that you dedicate for a different use. Your wand could be a branch, a paintbrush, a kitchen spoon, I use an old drumstick because I play drums. Your book of shadows (or book of mirrors) can be an old college notebook, and so on…
It’s not the tools, it’s the Witch! 
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Yay for kitchen knife athame/bolline/just generally using a kitchen knife for everything! 
I think I found a wand today! I’ve been plodding along wandless all this time but today I found a branch by my Grandmother’s grave and something told me to take it home for sprucing up! (I said a general thank you to the surrounding trees as I wasn’t sure which one it had come from.) But how exciting 
I love that you use a drumstick @Francisco
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Hello @tracie2!
Others have shared some great advice about ways to cut costs and practice on a budget. Adding to that, there was the Thrifty Witch Challenge a while back- it has some very cheap/free spells and ideas. If you read the submissions in the comments, there are some wonderful ways to practice without spending any money at all! 
Good luck and blessed be!
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A friend from England says she uses birthday candle for her spells. They come in all colors…To be fair I found out that their birthday candles are a little beefier than the American version but I still think it is a grand idea. If you don’t have a holder find a deep metal cap and put some wet sand in it and poke the candle down into the sand.
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