Newspapers and magazines

A_fiend_for_life

Any one given up buying newspapers and magazines? I got this idea from one of the surveys I did recently on what luxuries folk are giving up with the credit crunch.

Personally I stopped buying my rag in January as I could often find a copy on my rail commute or read it online. The view I took was I was paying for broadband and a newspaper was paying for the same thing twice. In fact more than twice. My rag cost me £280 a year: almost twice as much as broadband or more than a third of my fuel bill:eek:.

Books I usually buy in the charity shop though or borrow from the library.

Any one else given up papers or mags?

greenbee

Haven't bought one regularly for years... occasionally I do and realise I'm not missing anything. We're bombarded by information as it is, so I don't really feel that it stops me knowing what's going on in the world.

garden-lover

I too haven't bought one regularly for years. I read newspapers online (and surprisingly hadn't done the monetary calculation re broadband!)and occasionally will have magazines passed on to me, and I then realise they are not worth the approx £3 that they cost new. If there is a magazine that I really want I drop hints about subscription to DS at birthday time. TV listings I access online.

If there is anything I really want to know, then Google it is.

daphne~sparkle

I used to have serious magazine addiction - started when I was a teenager, for some reason I had to buy every one incase I missed something.

I cannot bring myself to calculate the amount of money I have wasted but I bought almost every Womans Glossy monthly (£2/£4 each) and quite a few of the weeklys (50p/£2 each). I also bought at least 1 newspaper every day. Multiply that by 12 years and you have scary money!

My circumstances changed this year and I have had to become much more aware of when my money is going. I have rediscovered reading books instead of vacuous 'celeb' gossip' and now read all the newspapers online unless I am collecting vouchers - Sun Hols/ NOWT £5 off tesco's etc.

I have taken advantage of a couple of the 3 for £1 mag subscription/Free gift offers for Gardening/Cooking mags (how priorities have changed LOL!) but am now wise to cancelling the DD after they take the £1 instead of letting it run on. I am proud to be working the system and rebalancing some of the fortune I have earned the magazine companies over the years!

DSX

just_thrifty

We buy one newspaper at the weekend- I like the ritual of a morning with breakfast and the paper! Plus you get a mag with the TV and radio schedule. Have completely given up other mags though- never read the "celebrity" ones, but used to get Good Housekeeping etc. I remember putting a whole pile of them in the recycling bin one day and realising they were all basically just the same- churning the same stuff out month after month, and most of it encouraging you to get things you didn't need, or making you feel a failure if your house didn't look like an advert for a Laura Ashley shop!!

setmefree2

Hi

I stopped buying mags about 5 years ago when we started on our "mortgage-free" journey. I tend to buy a sunday newspaper and then read the mags during the week. When I was young I loved women's mags and enjoyed parenting mags when I was pregnant and had babies and toddlers. My kids love Match mag which they devour and my eldest loves music mags. I'm happy to buy these for the kids as they are well read and much loved.

I do like mags I just don't buy thm anymore as I would rather use the money to be mortgage free.

SMF2

Ken68

Havn't bought a newspaper for yonks, read them at the library but hardly finish them.
Same with the tv, mostly tosh. Use iPlayer now for selective viewing, so maybe another saving on the horizon.
Had the free Radio Times offer but the Sky index (EP something) is quicker.

A_fiend_for_life

just_thrifty wrote: »

We buy one newspaper at the weekend- I like the ritual of a morning with breakfast and the paper! Plus you get a mag with the TV and radio schedule. Have completely given up other mags though- never read the "celebrity" ones, but used to get Good Housekeeping etc.

The calculating the cost, the volume of paper and carrying them on round commute was what got me thinking about it and I gradually cut down. This left me with the 'Environment' day and the IT day for jobs. In January I said no more because at times I would be mentally ticking off what supplement I had browsed.

I agree with you on the Saturday one but I have scrapped that one too now. I have retained one supplement for Radio 4 programming.:D as I don't listen to it often.

On the home improvement magazines I would never fall into that trap - I used to buy 3 or 4 computer magazines a month instead - many with similar reviews as they are owned by the same companies. Computer magazines were a waste but the thought of buying the latest every year or two - I don't know why I bought them.

The mad thing is my computer is a second from university and the monitor is due for testing in March 1999.

A_fiend_for_life

setmefree2 wrote: »

Hi

My kids love Match mag which they devour and my eldest loves music mags. I'm happy to buy these for the kids as they are well read and much loved.

You've reminded me of my Smash Hits days.:D

A_fiend_for_life

greenbee wrote: »

Haven't bought one regularly for years... occasionally I do and realise I'm not missing anything. We're bombarded by information as it is, so I don't really feel that it stops me knowing what's going on in the world.

Very true and what you read in the newspapers will be on the news or you will find it because it is your area of interest. Also I feel there is little I can do about it and think I need to take more of an interest in what is happening locally.

A_fiend_for_life

daphne~sparkle wrote: »

...subscription/Free gift offers for Gardening/Cooking mags (how priorities have changed LOL!)...

DSX

I quite agree.:)