Why I'm Letting My Subscription to Smart Money Magazine Expire

Last week I got a notice that if I didn't renew my subscription to Smart Money magazine soon, I'd start missing issues. I immediately made a note to renew the subscription (I've been getting it for years, after all), but after I thought about it, I decided to let it expire. Why? It basically boils down to the fact that it's not worth the time and money I spend on it. Here are the specifics:

• It has little value. The magazine is full of hype on "the next great investment" or, more accurately, the "8 stocks to keep forever." That's just for one issue, mind you. In the next issue, there will be a whole new set of stocks/funds that will make you a millionaire. This is the reason Smart Money consistently ranked third of the big three financial magazines in my rating reviews.

• The value it does have, I can get online. Ever heard of an RSS feed? Smart Money tells me everything it puts online (which includes most of its magazine), and I can select what I think is worth reading for free. Why do I need to get a hard copy when I can get it online for free?

• Time. It takes time to read a magazine -- even one that you're not that interested in. And I have precious little spare time, so when something has little value and I can get the value that does exist for free, I ax it off my list and create a bit more time for myself. yeah, it also takes time to read web articles, but I can pick what I want to see/read, so there is some overall savings.

What about you? Have you recently canceled a magazine subscription or let one expire? If so, why?

Comments

[spydurrmann]

Hello all!

Yes, I've let my suubscription to Money magazine expire due to the fact if you login to your public library database, it's free to view. Also, with all the free sites from here to Europe, you can even download a copy. When it comes to media information, you can practically look it up on the net.

[AlfaFox.info]

This year I canceled all my magazine subscriptions: a finance, a product-test, and a computer magazine. Most stuff didn´t interest me and the rest came mostly at the wrong time. And I hated the piles of articles I wanted to archive.

Since I have braodband Internet I prefer to research and read online. And I habe made the resolution to visit the library every other month and browse through the magazines to pick the one or two interesting articles.

I hope to get them all online soon.

[bettis]

i am right there with you. i am letting smart money expired too - along with forbes.

as for smart money, my reasoning boils down to a simple fact. when i go to read it, i turn the pages front to back and never see anything worthwhile to read. nothing catches my attention and nothing look remotely interesting. and with my limited time to read such publications, i don't want to waste them on sub-par magazines.

as for forbes, it isn't much better. however, my main issue with forbes is that they have sold my address to ever vaguely finance related mailing company in town. i get all sorts of crap i don't want. also, weeks after i began my subscription, they started sending me offers to extend my subscription, however the offers looked like bills. i felt like they were trying to trick me into a subscription extension and i didn't appreciate that at all.

for the future, i will stick with Money and Kiplinger's

[Amber]

I let my subscription to Money expire. I got sick of seeing "average" couples featured whose annual household income was $150,000. I live in a small town in a pretty rural area of California, and in this world people who make that kind of money are definitely not average. I can't imagine my area is the only one like this. Where's the family in which he has his own small drywall business and she's a $12-an-hour secretary, but they still want to know how to maximize what they do have? I guess Money doesn't think we can read out here away from the big cities, so they just ignore our demographic completely.

[Lord]

If you subscribe to any magazine for several years, say ten, you will find them repeating themselves and find nothing more to learn from it.

[Sir John of Feelgood]

With the information that is available almost instantly, I don't know why anyone would subscribe to finance magazines.

They do have some good advice...if travel back in time were possible. I recommend you look at your own financial situation before taking Jim Cramer's advice-but he has steered me in the right direction a few times. And early enough that I am able to benefit.

[Brandon J]

The only subscription that I've ever owned was/is Motley Fool's Hidden Gems. I try to pick my own stocks; however, I sprinkle some Hidden Gems (small-cap value stocks) and they seem to do really well.

Brandon J
Money for Military

[pfodyssey]

I just started reading Smart Money. I don't like it as much as Money, but am still trying it out. I really love to read and typically have the problem of not having enough material around to keep me occupied, so will not easily cancel. If you don't find you have much time, are you using the "library" (your home facilities)? I digress... The only reason I have thought about canceling my subscriptions lately is that I become very annoyed when I can read some of the articles on CNNMoney before I even the get magazine in the mail.

[Mr. Bee]

This may not be fully related to personal finance, but I only subscribe to one magazine and it is one of the most expensive magazine subscription. It is the Economist, one of the better written magazine with very good articles (IMO). In a way personal finances are related to the economy, thus I think it is relevant comment here.

[Pam]

I've never been a huge magazine subscriber. But in the past 3 weeks or so, I've made a conscious effort to declutter my inbox. I've been unsubscribing to ezines, newsletters, tips-of-the-day and even retail store sales fliers that hit my inbox far too often. I've been spending less time reading junk mail that I had requested and more time on things that are more important to me. It's freeing to clear the electronic clutter!
~Pam

[kimster]

I used to subscribe to Money and cancelled. I too got tired of seeing stories about those couples making $150+ and what a financial pickle they were in. The real nail in the coffin was the nasty grams MONEY kept sending me if I DID NOT renew immediately. Unknown to me, my subscription was set up for an automatic renewal and when I did not respond to their renewal letter they sent me repeated threats about what will happen if I did not renew immediately and how they would have to take legal action. I thought it was a scam at first. After 3 letters I contacted them via phone and the operator was soooo rude...acting like I was a deadbeat. Is this normal behavior?

[Blaine Moore]

I let my subscription to smart money expire over a year ago. I hadn't paid for the original subscription (not sure why they started sending it to me) and it wasn't really worth reading.

My money and business 2.0 subscriptions are about to lapse in the next couple of months, and I won't be renewing. I enjoy reading them, but don't really have time.

I have had subscriptions to magazines like Runners World and Mens Health in the past, but they tend to repeat themselves too often. Every 3 or 4 years I will pick up a random issue and may subscribe for a year if they have a good deal, but I never renew.

The only magazines that I intend to keep coming right now are Make magazine from O'Reilly Press (they have a lot of neat project ideas and every once in a while I even go through with creating one), New England Runner (which frequently features people that I know and compete with or against) and the USATF magazine that I get due to my membership.

I agree with Kimster and Sir John. Couples making $150K and saying that are lacking this or that. Give me a break!

PF Magazines highlight most of their articles on the internet. No need for subscriptions.

Read CNN Money, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money or Fool.com, most companies post articles on these sites.

[Art Dinkin]

I tend to try several magazines and then not renew when they do not live up to expectations. A lot of the commenters are right. So much is available on the web.

Still, there are some magazines I just like to hold and take with me when I have an appointment somewhere and figure I will have to wait. Mostly hobby related stuff.

[shadox]

I don't subscribe to any personal finance magazines, simply because I think their content sucks. However a god magazine is really a cool thing. I haven't found a way to take my magazine to bed with me, and I hate sitting with my laptop on the porch to read some articles.

I subscribe to business week (so-so), and a couple of Science Magazines (Scientific American & Sky & Telescope). I also buy the economist whenever I hop on a flight. It is an excellent magazine, but it has so much content, I never have the time to read it unless I am flying.

Anyway, even if you can get most of the content online, a good magazine is a very fun thing.

[Mr Credit Card]

Magazines like Money magazine, fortune,forbes are pretty useless. They have mediocre articles. And you are right. Each issue has posts like 8 best stocks to own!

Best to read stuff like

http://www.pilonine.com

where you get real investment information and the latest news in the world of institutional money management. Or Institution Investors.

[Mr Credit Card]

Sorry

link should be :

http://www.pionline.com