How To Save Money On Magazines

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with magazines.

On the one hand I find myself constantly drawn to their shiny covers and tempting headines. On the other hand I know magazines are a massive luxury. They’re incredibly expensive for what they are, they’re full of adverts trying to sell you more products and there’s so little to actually read in them that you’re all done within an hour or two. Hardly what I’d case a wise investment.

What is a (frugal) boy to do?

Fortunately over the years I’ve discovered a number of ways to save money on magazines so you can still enjoy your favorite publications without paying $5+ for something that will end up in the recycling bin within a few days of purchase.

Share With Your Friends

Your friends probably have similar tastes to you.

If you ask around you might be surprised by the wealth of magazines they buy regularly, then leave gathering dust on their coffee table.

Why not simply speak to your friends and ask them to pass on to you any unwanted magazines they have?

Many will be glad to get rid of the clutter from their homes, you’ll suddenly gain access to all manner of new magazines and – worst case scenario – at least you can ensure any finished or unwanted titles are properly recycled.

Check Out Your Library

Increasingly, public libraries aren’t just for borrowing books. From CDs to DVDs, from language courses to computer software, libraries are diversifying to become a complete “knowledge hub” for their local community.

Increasingly, this includes offering a range of recent magazines that you can take away to enjoy at home without the cost.

So if it’s some time since you last visited your local library, go and explore it now to see just what sort of services are currently on offer.

Ask if they have a magazine section where you can read – or even borrow – the latest titles. And if they don’t yet offer magazines as part of their service, ask who you need to speak to in order to make a suggestion.

Sign Up For Online Magazines

Possibly the best way to access all manner of free magazines with the minimum of fuss is to download them from the internet so you can read them at home on your Kindle or tablet computer.

As always, in these areas, there are rather a lot of “dodgy” sites that aren’t authorized by the publisher. Rather like illegal movie download sites I recommend staying away from these; both to avoid the risk of legal repercussions as well as to protect your computer from the assortment of viruses these sites often harbor.

However that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to download magazines from the internet. Indeed, there are actually a number of impressive websites and apps that allow you to legally download a wide assortment of free magazines to enjoy at your leisure.

Of these, Issuu is probably my favorite as they offer a massive range of publications. You can use their app or simply sign up free at the Issuu website to open up a whole new world of free reading material.

Another site well worth a visit is the free magazines section of Magzter. At the time of writing there are over 300 free magazines available though there are arugably fewer well-known magazines here than elsewhere.

Next Issue

Next Issue is basically Netflix for magazines. Pay a small monthly subscription fee and you’ll gain access to over 300 top-quality magazines – including a massive selection of their back issues. That means that for less than $10 you’re basically getting access to more magazines than you could ever read!

Next Issue is currently available in the USA and Canada though hopefully will be rolling out to other countries very soon. Find out more here.

LeKiosk

Fortunately UK readers need not shed a tear just yet at the lack of Next Issue access; new kid on the block Le Kiosk offers a similar service to UK magazine readers. Whilst there currently aren’t any “unlimited” packages like Next Issue, a monthly subscription to their service allows you access to a broad range of well-known magazines for as little as £1 per issue; still a lot cheaper than buying the print version.

Subscribe And Save

Magazines live and die by their subscribers; they’re a source of reliable, predictable income that helps magazines to stay afloat and budget for the future. And because subscribers are so much more valuable than one-off purchases, you’ll often find all sorts of incentives to sign up.

Almost without exception, subscribers will receive a free gift and/or a discount on the cover price of every issue. So if there is a magazine you’re particularly passionate about, it may well prove cost-effective to actually stump up the readies and take out an annual subscription.

Take Free Trials

You’d be surprised at how many magazines try to snag new subscribers with tempting free or discounted trial memberships. Here in the UK there are regular “3 for £3” offers and similar bargains to be had. Keep an eye out in your favorite magazines for current promotions and see if you can land a number of issues, carefully posted to your door, for next to nothing.

So if you are going to become a subscriber to a magazine in order to save money don’t sign up for the first offer you see. Instead, shop around and take your time. There are often multiple offers available for a certain title and it pays to investigate every option to find the most beneficial deal for you.

Keep An Eye On Special Offers

A number of magazine subscriptions are sold online for much less than the standard subscription price so this is another avenue worthy of investigation.

Both Amazon and Magazines.com (or Magazines.co.uk in the UK) offer subscription rates of 20% or more less than the sticker price. Be sure to consult these sources before adopting a subscription to get the best deal possible on your favorite titles.

Advertise

This is a rather sneaky technique that I coudn’t decide whether or not to include so please use it with caution. A few years ago I was running an online business and fancied the idea of advertising in a number of magazines in my niche.

So I emailed every magazine I could find that targeted my customers to ask about advertising rates in their publication. Pretty much every magazine in question responded not just with a rate card but also at least one recent issue of their magazine for reference.

While I wouldn’t suggest that you use this technique unless you really are considering placing an advert in them, it’s amazing just what these companies are willing to give you in the hope of attracting your advertising dollars.

As you can see there are all sorts of ways to save money on magazines and either get them for free – or at least far cheaper than you’d pay in your local newsagent or supermarket.

The one final thing I would mention is that many of these money-saving strategies have been put in place by the magazine publishers themselves in the hope of “tricking” you into a paid subscription. So before you take out a trial subscription or request a free copy just be well aware of the implications and ensure you keep your subscription numbers under control.

How have you managed to save money on magazines? Please leave your experiences in the comments section below…