Friday, October 22, 2010

Frugal Ways To Enjoy Magazines

I am a big magazine fan. I can enjoy reading without the total commitment a book requires (even though I do enjoy a good book, when time permits)! Magazines are a fabulous way to glean handy tips, find great new recipes to try, keep up on current events, and learn a new skill or two. The downside is that if I subscribed to every magazine that is geared toward my interests, the poor mail carrier would have a hernia from delivering them all (and I would probably be on his/ her Naughty List).   

I do have subscriptions to several magazines that I love! Some have been gifts. I can get my Reminisce  fix thanks to my mother. She renews my subscription every year. Thank you, Mom!!! I also love Taste of Home and Simple and Delicious magazines that are published by Reiman Publications (so is Reminisce,by the way).  In fact, I am a big fan of cooking magazines. It's fun to see the tried and true recipes that cooks from all over the country (and world) feed their families. I really am a sucker for cooking literature of any kind! Country Living and Better Homes and Gardens are also favorites.

Subscribing to magazines can get expensive quickly.  I have done some searching to find the most frugal way to indulge my habit.
  • There are several website that offer discount subscriptions. Amazon.com, BestDealMagazines.com and Tanga.com are several sites I have found great deals on. I just renewed Taste of Home for $3.85.
  • Share subscriptions with friends and neighbors. My friend subscribes to magazines that I don't, so we swap issues. Twice the pleasure have the price.
  • Check out magazines from the library. The library is a great resource for all sorts of periodicals.  Lately, I have been checking out all sorts of crafty magazine to find decorating and gift ideas for the upcoming Holidays.
  • Give a magazine gift subscription to a friend or family member. It a great gift (and easy gift to give)!
  • Check magazines for reduced rate subscription cards. Magazines want to "hook" you as a devoted reader, so they will often offer deeply discounted first time subscriptions. 
  • Renew your magazine subscription for 2 - 3 years at a time. Most companies offer a discount for a prolonged subscriptions. I just renewed Better Homes and Gardens for 3 years. They gave my a 3 year renewal for the price of one year ($9.99 or $3.33 per year).
Of course, it would be totally UNFRUGAL to just toss those magazine when you are done reading them! I am a big fan of  magazine swapping, but there are other good options:
  • Donate magazines to Assisted Living, and nursing homes.
  • Share magazines with elderly neighbors. The elderly are often shut in or on fixed incomes, and new magazine or two to read is always a fun diversion.
  • Donate appropriate magazines to schools or Cub Scout groups for projects. I have donated many cooking and craft magazines to my friend who is a Home Economics teacher. Her class uses them for research and class projects.
  • They can be donated to hospital and urgent cares,too.
  • Always recycle magazine, sales circulars, and catalogs when you are done reading them.
Bloggy Friends......What are your favorite magazines to read?

6 comments:

  1. Hi! I have gotten a few good (cheap) magazine subscriptions at Amazon. I refuse to pay full price for a magazine anymore! I have also found that some magazines offer their content online for free... it's worth checking out to see if your favorite magazines are included.

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  2. Too funny! I just wrote about my gift subscription to Real Simple (provided by my MIL), and I have a post scheduled about utilizing the library... I love your discard ideas. I generally donate mine through my local Freecycle group (www.freecycle.org).

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  3. What a great post! I love magazines, too! My favorites are Southern Living and Taste of Home. You have really found some bargains with your magazine subscriptions.

    This year I found a deal on Slickdeals.com for VERANDA magazine for just $5 a year. After a few issues, I really didn't relate to the magazine, and gave it to my neighbor. Now we meet at the fence once a month and exchange magazines and talk a few minutes about our lives. As a result of sharing magazines, I have a cherished friend!
    (Best $5 I ever spent :-)
    Have a great day!

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  4. I, too, am a magazine junkie. I've subscribed to Good Housekeeping since I was a young mother. I have gotten free magazine subscriptions through www.mycokerewards.com (Traditional Home) and through Hubby's flight miles rewards. I take a few knitting mags and just recently subscribed to a sewing magazine to help a neighbor kid's school fundraiser. I haven't seen a Better Homes & Gardens in forever, but that would be one I'd like to look at again. My sister gave me subscriptions to Taste of Home and Cooking Light last Christmas. So many magazines, so little time! =)

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  5. I love magazines!! Thanks for the great ideas and tips! Have I told you lately how BRILLIANT you are!!

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  6. I love cooking magazines, too! I get Taste of Home and Paula Deen's for my cooking ones. Love them both...but Taste of Home is by far the best deal!

    Love the ideas for getting rid of them...I always struggle with what to do with them.

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