Confessional

I have a confession to make.  I have an addiction that is not frugal, and proves to take a bite out of our checking account every couple of months.  I am addicted to magazines!  I love them.  To me, receiving a magazine in the mail is as good as getting an unexpected package from UPS.  I love the colorful covers,  the grab you headlines and the shiny paper.  But, as we continue to trim expenses, I realize that it is time for me to detox and to stop renewing the endless stream of magazines that come into the  house.

Currently, my husband and I have 17 magazine subscriptions.  I know, doesn't seem frugal.  I justify subscribing by telling myself I am going to get a free gift that is worth more than the subscription.  Unfortunately, I have yet to learn that the free gift never looks as good when it is delivered as it did in the colorful photo.  The free cookbook that comes free with the subscription is actually just a 4 page pamphlet or the free tote is big enough for an apple.

My addiction started when I was pregnant with my first child.  I became convinced that everything I needed to know about being a good parent was in the parenting magazines that I saw in the children's section at the bookstore.  So, before I entered my 2nd trimester we were getting Parents, Parenting and Child.  I read them cover to cover, preparing for his arrival and even preparing for the preschool and school age years.  As the years went by, I realized that those magazines were recycling the same articles over and over.  I should know, I had been reading them for years.  

Next, I decided that it was time for me to become the perfect gourmet cook, so I subscribed to Food and Wine, Gourmet and was given Bon Appetite as a gift (a gift I love, mom, so DON'T cancel it!).  Again, I realized that these magazines tend to recycle and Gourmet and Bon Appetite are pretty much the same.  So, I let Gourmet go and kept the other 2 to help me continue improving my culinary skills.  

The next great phase in my addiction was when I decided that it was time for me to organize my life and to improve my health while balancing our budget.  Enter Real Simple, Woman's Day, Redbook, Whole Living, Prevention, Forbes and Taste of Home.  My ambitions were high and I found that I was spending so much time reading what I needed to do to improve my life that I was too tired at the end of the day to actually implement what I had been reading.

As I write this, I realize that I am in fact the main culprit here.  But, my husband tends to do the same thing.  Recently, he has become an Earth loving organic gardener.  With this new found hobby, we now receive Utne, Mother Jones, Mother Earth News and Organic Gardener.  I have to admit, I am the one who subscribed to Mother Jones, it came with a free pound of coffee. Worth more than the subscription.

As anyone can see, we need to stop.  So, here, on my blog, I vow to start letting my subscription lapse and I will start checking my magazines out from the library.