I hoard as much as possible, in liquidating just a few ei's and ci's i've gotten myself 40k.
When I am in a more comfortable place in terms of having enough items to make avi's whenever I wish, I intend to be much more charitable and such.
My biggest tip is to be as active in events as you can, get involved in the charity threads and threads with page prizes, not only do you make amazing friends, theres also the chance of page prizes and contest wins :)