However, the end product may be available to you for much less than the cost of purchasing bags of compost at your local Wal-Mart. Use lots of grass clippings. In cold or wet climates, it should be a well-ventilated location. A layer of green grass, covered with a layer of wood chips or dead leaves, works well. Paper and cardboard is carbon.
Coffee is nitrogen.
In areas with dry seasons, sprinkle the entire pile for no more than five minutes a couple of times a week in the evening. Bread, some chips and crackers and most tortillas seem ok. Anything much smaller than roughly three feet in diameter will break down very slowly, and may not break down completely in any amount of time. Lawn cuttings break down relatively fast. This doesn't mean turn the pile upside down.