Frugal Friday -- Magazines

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I have never paid to subscribe to a magazine, and yet have enjoyed the benefit of reading many different publications from Organic Gardening to Homeschooling Today to Family Fun. I used to think of the library as just a place to read books without buying them, but I have recently started looking at the many other services and resources the library has available.


Magazines in particular grabbed my attention. How long is a magazine's productive life in your household? For me, they usually aren't around more than a week or two. Now, I check them out from the library and have them for free for that long and they don't just go in the recycle bin when I finish with them (another benefit to getting them from the library rather than subscribing to your personal copy).

Now, I did run into a bit of a snag because my library, and many others as well, don't loan out the current copy. Instead I was stuck checking out a season-old copy. I fully understand their reasoning, and yet a friend once recommended a way "around" this policy. Since I am generally looking for seasonally relevant articles, and my library keeps just over a year of magazines on hand . . . I merely check out the year old magazine and find advice for my summer garden, back to school tips, and family outing ideas to keep July interesting, rather than reading about spring flowers, finishing the school year strong, and Easter craft ideas.

While you browse the magazine offerings don't forget to check out the movies, audio books (great for long car rides, or just running around town), CDs, etc, etc. And, many libraries are very accommodating if you request a certain magazine or resource that they do not have on hand. May as well have your taxes paying for something that you will truly benefit from, right?

It never hurts to ask.

For more Frugal Friday tips, check out Crystal's blog.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I love the idea of checking out year old magazines. I usually get subscriptions as gifts and it takes me about a year to read them!
Great tip!
Toni
Audra Krell said…
This is an excellent tip! As a freelance writer, it is difficult to study all the magazines without buying them and in some cases subscribing to them. I don't know why I didn't think of this!
I didn't even realize until recently that they checked out magazines! I agree, they will save you so much money! Then you don't have to worry about the clutter or having to throw them out!
Kelly said…
You can purchase donated magazines at our library for about 25 cents each . I used to buy National Geographic , Ranger RIck and other magazines for my son when he was a child .
They have a cart with the donated books and magazines at the entrance and you pay the desk for what you take.
Perhaps you could start one at your library , they use the funds raised for purchasing or items not in their library funding.
Anonymous said…
I love checking out magazines from the library- especailly the homeschool publications.
I also suggest checking out Crystal's other blog http://moneysavingmom.typepad.com/
Ususally once or twice a week she posts about opportunities to get free magazine subscriptions. I get 4 free subs right now. When I'm done reading them and have filed a way the goodies I want for reference, we use them in our homeschool classroom to make collages, etc.

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