ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How People Get Magazines For Free (Or Really Cheap!)

Updated on September 30, 2010

How I get Free Magazines

One of my most indulgent pleasures is reading magazines. Sometimes the information is useful, sure, but the truth is that I mostly read magazines for the light entertainment which they provide. And I find that when things are really stressful in my life, I sometimes create more stress for myself by increasing my personal debt through impulsive purchases of items like magazines. After all, buying magazines right off the stands may be a quick fix when you need a mental escape from the world, but it can get pricey if you aren't careful.

Recently, after realizing that I was wasting my money on magazines, I vowed to stop buying them. I bet you can guess how long that lasted. Yup, one store trip into my first bad day and I was armed with all of my favorites. So I decided that the cold turkey approach wasn't right for me and set about trying to find a way to get my magazine fix and not spend my money. Surprisingly, it didn't take long. I haven't bought a magazine off of the shelf since but I haven't had to go without my favorite indulgence either.

Here's how I get magazines for free or at least really cheap:

  1. I order unknown magazines. Remembering back to the days when I was into alternative press, I recalled the personally made "zines" which used to fill my mailbox. Produced primarily by youngsters, they provide great light entertainment, fresh information and low-cost reading material. They sometimes only cost the stamps it takes to get them sent to you. Do an internet search for "zines", "zine distros" and "zine conventions" to find some that you like.
  2. I beg, borrow and barter. I ask for magazine subscriptions as gifts from people at holidays so that I can get the brand-name magazines I really like at no cost. I ask my friends with magazine subscriptions to give me their leftovers. (Even my doctor lets me take some home with me when they're getting old.) Barring that, I compile the stacks of things I have to get rid of (clothes, CDs, unused notebooks) and let everyone on my social networking lists know that I'll trade them for magazines.
  3. I read magazines online. Same information as many of the regular magazines and only a click of the button away.
  4. I carefully check out available free magazines subscriptions when they are offered. Publications want you to read them, therefore they sometimes offer free trial subscriptions or they offer subscriptions in exchange for your completion of surveys and the like. There are sometimes hidden catches and there are sometimes steps which must be taken to prevent added cost (such as canceling subscriptions before trials run out) but by paying close attention to them, I have gotten free magazine subscriptions which worked for me.
  5. I check the "free" section of classified posts. I am a big fan of acquiring anything for free, so I know that there are classified posts for "free" things all of the time. Craigslist, which is one of the biggest classified ad sites online, has a "free" section under their "for sale" ads. Magazines are frequently listed here, so as long as I can get myself transported to where they need to be picked up, I can get some good ones. This has been the best method I've found for getting turned on to magazines I might not otherwise have noticed but really enjoy.

Saving money requires the use of some basic common sense. This is true of getting free magazines in the same way it's true of any other money saving technique. But if you look around, ask around and notice the details of the transactions, you can meet your magazine-indulgence needs without spending much money at all.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)