Why I Don't Subscribe to Financial Magazines
There are tons of informative financial magazines out there. Kiplinger (one of my favorites), Money, Better Investing and Fortune are some of the popular ones. However, once you have mastered the basics of investing, you'd find a lot of the information are things you already know. This is understandable because these magazines need to appeal to a broad range of readers — from novices to experts. Nevertheless, you'd find some gems that'd help put you on the right path towards an early retirement. This is why reading them is essential for the success of your investing career.
Despite my dependency on these magazines, I have never subscribed to any of them. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as saying subscribing to the magazines is a waste of money. Now, before you start throwing stones at me let me explain.
Magazines Are Expensive And They Don't Last
Financial magazines are not cheap. They generally sell for $3.99 each. With a subscription, you may get a small discount. New subscribers get a great deal where they end up paying about $1 per magazine for one year. But when you are subscribing to three or four magazines the costs add up quickly. Assuming you are paying an average of $36 per year for each magazine, you could be paying a little over $100 for three magazine subscriptions. That's not cheap.
Most of the time, magazines are one-time use only. I bet most of you just throw them out once you're done with them. Others make scrap paper out of them. Some would probably use them as tv stands or coffee tables. A few environmentally conscious ones will take them to the nearest paper recycling bins. If there were little gems of information in the magazines they would just be scratching the surface due to editorial constraints. You'd still need to read books that discuss a subject in detail before you can start anything.
The Library You Never Knew
You're probably asking "So are you telling me to steal, smarty pants?" Not exactly. If you like reading like I do, I'm sure you have been to either Barnes & Noble or Borders. Both serve up a huge collection of reading materials from books to, yep, you guessed it, financial magazines. And you're lucky, some of them serve up some mean, delicious drinks at their cafes too. Barnes & Noble cafes brew irresistable Starbucks coffees and teas. Borders cafes have their own signature smoothies, coffees and teas.
These bookstores are my favorite places to hang out during weekends. They allow hours of browsing through the latest free, unread, brand new books and magazines. You can do all that while enjoying a delicious drink. Cool, huh? So how is this cheaper than subscribing to the magazines? Well, you don't need to pay for the magazines. Assuming you couldn't resist the tempation of Starbucks, you'd end up paying $3.75 for a grande mocha. But for that amount you could browse all your favorite magazines. I think it's a great deal. If you hate coffee, then you pay nothing. Simply put, these bookstores are really like libraries, except foods and drinks are allowed. Is this not a dream come true?
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If you are subscribing to multiple magazines, I urge you to reconsider and weigh the costs versus benefits of the subscriptions.
Do you subscribe to magazines? Tell me why. And if you think I'm crazy, I'd like to know as well.
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Quick tip, I've been doing this with Money for three years. When the subscription ends for the first year and you don't get the good price anymore just go to the store and take out one of the cards to order it again as a new subscriber for cheap. Then order it in a variation of your name like you first initial instead of full name. Works every time.
Also, if you say you have a personal business like you're a financial planner or something a lot of them will send it to you for free. I've been getting Financial Advisor and Financial Planning for a year for free and just renewed.
Hah! My public library in Seattle actually sells coffee drinks in the foyer. Not only can you sip coffee and peruse the mags, you can check past issues a few months before - last I checked B&N and Borders only has the newest, latest issue. :)
I do actually save one magazine but its a food magazine, not a financial magazine. Those don't date as badly.
Great tip, dledge! I've heard about business owners getting free subscription offers but since I don't own a business I couldn't verify the rumor.
Baselle, I'm jealous.
Money magazines are considered financial pornography. They all have one thing in common; they are out to sell their product. Most of the content is common sense.
