Why I Let My Money Magazine Subscription Expire

I've noted before that Money Magazine is by far my favorite personal finance magazine. I've subscribed to it for many years -- maybe 10 or so -- but I recently decided to let my subscription lapse. Here's why:

• Much of the content is on the web. Money publishes much of their stuff on the web at CNN Money. They have an RSS feed, so it's easy for me to see what's new and decide to write about it or not.

• Time. I am already over-committed and anything I can cut out is found time for my family or some other effort. Granted, it isn't that much time, but every bit helps.

• Cost. The cost isn't that much for an annual subscription, but it's even lower with a coupon from my Entertainment Book. If I decide to renew my subscription, I'll use that coupon and save over 50% versus the best online offer I can find elsewhere.

With the elimination of this subscription, I'm now down to only two: Consumer Reports and The Family Handyman.

How about you? What magazines do you subscribe to and why? Are you planning on keeping them when they are up for renewal?

Comments

[MC]

The New Yorker & The New York Review of Books. The best writing out there, and very informative about local news including politics and various people's ideas about the roots of the financial crisis. Worth buying because there's lots of interesting, thought-provoking information in each issue and each is published weekly.

I read the WSJ, NYT and many other financial sites online. Why pay for what you can get free?

My local paper, alas, is folding, but anyone can see why. Even the Sunday version takes only 5 min to read after you throw away all the ads and crap. No content.

[Eric]

Ironically, Money is the one subscription I have. And it was for free so no cost for me.

[Al Howard]

I dropped CI in favor of their on-line service. As a subscriber, I get the ratings (what more do I want) with a "fairly" good search engine, and not killing as many trees.

[Matt SF]

People still print magazines? No way!

[James]

My wife and I subscribe to Triathlete, Inside Triathlon, Runner's World, Running Times, Bicycling, Marathon and Beyond, the Wall Street Journal, and Army Times. WSJ is for me for work and Army Times is for my wife for work so those are definite keepers. We plan to keep all of them even though we can get some of the content online. It is hard to read stuff online when you are in bed, traveling, or when you stick the magazine in your brief case to read when you have a spare moment at work. I love online stuff, but sometimes you just can't beat a magazine.

[Matt]

I have dropped my magizine subscriptions because I can read them at the library for free.

[TStrump]

There is so much free content online now, there really is no need to read magazines.
I have to admit, though, it is nice to relax with something in your hand.
But, reading online saves paper and a lot of money.
I might subscribe to the following online magazines soon - The Economist, Macleans, Wall Street Journal and I really like Consumer Reports.

[nickel]

Family Handyman sounds interesting. Is it worthwhile? Just an interesting read, or is it chock full of actionable stuff?

[guinness416]

I subscribe to The New Yorker, National Geographic and Moneysense (a canuckpersonal finance magazine) and generally read all three cover to cover. They're great. I don't like to get all my news/opinion staring at a screen - I like the vibe of kicking back with a magazine and a cup of tea, and as I'm on public transit all the time I always need reading material to hand.

[SAHM]

As a homeschooler, I have one main homeschool magazine and Consumer Reports. I'm letting CR lapse because I'm getting tired of the politics in much of the magazine lately. It seems their solution for everything is more government. And the last big purchase I made based upon their recommendations has been horrible. So, bye-bye CR. Like guiness416, I love to just kick back with a cup of coffee and read through a magazine. I'm not always on my computer!

[FMF]

Nickel --

I read it mostly for entertainment (I like seeing how things are made), but I do get a few easy tips out of every issue. For someone with more time and skill (and wanting to build a deck, small pond/waterfall, etc.), it's a good resource.

You can check out their website too to get a flavor of the magazine. It's http://www.rd.com/family-handyman.

[Rhea]

I subscribe to the NY Times Book Review. It comes out weekly and I never get to the library to read it, so I keep that one. I used to get People, but it's $100/year. I dropped that, although I do miss it.

[Kelly]

I spend too much time on my PC as it is. I don't want to be forced to get all of my news there. There's nothing better than sitting outside with a magazine or working out while reading one. I got USNews for 15 years. Just recently they switched to on-line only with one 'fluffy' magazine a month. I found it ironic that they announced this major change in the issue that focused on health and the fact that we are all obese because we sit in front of monitors all day.

[My Crossover Point]

Eric,
I hear you on the free part, but sometimes free can be costly. The money cost is not the only cost to things.

I get the Sunday-only subscription for my newspaper for the coupons, but they have been doing a (endless?!) promotion where they give it to me every day for free. They did it without even asking me ("Congratulations, we're giving you our paper for free."). I guess the idea is that I'll be hooked on it. At first I read it every day thinking, "it's free, I might as well enjoy it." Then I read it every day thinking, "I'm not getting anything else done in the morning, why am I doing this?" Now most mornings I pick it up from my porch and chuck it without even glancing at it. I've been meaning to call them to tell them to stop giving me the paper every day.

Time is more important than money. I can always earn more money, but my time is non-renewable. If you can get Money magazine for free and it is worth the time to read it, then it's a great deal. If it starts piling up and weighing on your mind because you think you have an obligation to read it, then cancel it.

Paul

[Corporate Barbarian]

We've canceled all of the following over the last few years: Business Week, Nickelodeon, Sports Illustrated, The Family Handyman, This Old House, ESPN, Entertainment Weekly, Good Housekeeping, Shape, Men's Fitness. Also the local newspaper. Better for the environment, and most of the info is available for free on the internet. To say it was an unpopular decision in my house is an understatement, but the hissing stopped over time. ;-)

[DCS]

Most of my magazines are subscriptions given by family members. They know I like them, are reasonably priced, and easy to buy for those who have trouble getting out and fighting the holiday crowds. Garden Gate is my favorite, due to it's extensive annual index (covering all issues ever published) and quality as a reference that I can use over and over. Any magazine that's useless after I've read it once isn't worth the price in my opinion.

I also have a CR online subscription, which is quite inexpensive and about right for the value I get from it.

Lastly I get some weekly free newspaper (although that's really not a "subscription" per se). The only time I open it is when I'm spreading it out as a weed barrier under mulch or using it to wash my windows. It's very effective for both and worth every penny.

I have also toyed with the idea of canceling cable TV and using part of the funds to subscribe to the Library of America, but haven't gone through with it yet.

[RobF]

Nickel:

Family Handyman is full of stuff that is very useful and gives you help and ideas. I used to read the "How a House Works" series and learned a lot that has been helpful working on an old rental house. I have several years of back issues and let the subscription lapse to save some money. The internet is great for searching for specific info, but tips, background info and ideas you might not look for are the value of a magazine. (Unless they run the same article in different versions each month.)