Making your own fireplace starter is a good way to make use of household waste, and place yourself on a bit more of a self reliant footing.
It's easy to do and provides a great homemade product that starts a fire very nicely in a wood stove, fireplace or other wood heating appliance.
The steps to create homemade fire starter are as follows:

1. Melt scrap wax or paraffin in an old pot.
   I obtained my paraffin blocks at a garage sale for a fraction of their retail cost.
   
2. Add saw dust until a thick mixture is reached.
   I use saw dust created from a buzz saw when cutting firewood.
   A box full of saw dust makes hundreds of fire starter blocks.
   
3. Press mixture into old ice cube trays, egg cartons or cookie sheets.
   If you use old cardboard egg cartons, it's easy to tear off one starter cube at a time.
   The cardboard also helps start the saw dust and paraffin mixture.
   
4. Allow to cool before handling.
   
5. Separate chunks, release cubes or break sheets into pieces.
   You can also leave them as-is until you need to use them to start a fire.
   
6. Enjoy the warmth of a wood fire that starts easily.
   

It doesn't get much easier than that.
And, if you'd like to make homemade fire starter without the cost of fuel, simply sit the pot on your wood stove to melt down the wax while making this concoction.
Expect a two gallon pot of melted wax and saw dust to make about 200 individual fireplace starter cubes or pieces.