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Tuesday 14 June 2011

Free Magazines, to pay or not to pay?

I took Alice along to the shop with me to buy a few groceries the other day and while we were in there she couldn't take her eyes of 'Girl Talk' magazine with its pinkness and freebies. I thought of all the things she could've fancied (sweets, biscuits etc) a mag really wasn't so bad and steered her in the direction of BBC's ToyBox. I chose this as I have an unshakable love for the beeb and it seemed to have the most freebies.


The sticker box was a little disappointing as it had one small strip in a giant box, but the hook a duck games is great as are the many colourful insects and net to catch them in.

I dont usually even bother to look at the mags section when I do make it to the supermarket as as much as I love a good magazine, having a good browse of all kinds of different things, recepies (esepcially the ones that look yummy and chances are I'll never buy all the ingredients to cook!), health an beauty and general mummying advice etc. I just cant ever seem to justify handing over my hard earned money on something I know will litter up my bathroom floor and be in the recycling a few weeks later!

For the last few years I have ditched the pricey Cosmo subscriptions and swapped them for a bargain busting selection of free mags instead!

My favorite free mag has to be Asda Magazine it comes out monthly and can be found at the end of the tills or around the exits of all Asda's.  

Asda's magazine is great because it covers so many different topics each issue has great family recipes an some goo grown up ones too! Parenting advice sections, Fashion, Healthy living etc. Its presentation is great an it is always packed full of great money saving tips, serving prices food its recipes and best off loads of great asda coupons and competitions for really great prizes. I dont shop in Asda too often but whenever I do I always make sure to pick this one up as the recipes really are great., many of them cut out and stashed in my family faves folder. Incase you dont have a chance to get into Asda yourself they also publish it online for you at www.asdamagazine.com/ 

Next on this list is Boots Health and Beauty magazine. This is technically only free to Advantage Card holders, but I can soundly say I have never been asked to produce one when picking this up, and it is a free to join loyalty card anyway.



This magazine is a great girlie read with loads of brilliant make up tips keeping you right up to date with current trends. Its celeb interviews are great and for a store magazine it isnt too cluttered with annoying ads.I love to pop this one in the change bag for train journeys etc when you just want to flick through something attractive and glossy. I do however have to admit that Health and Beauty magazine is currently badly let down by their website which is nowhere near the standard of the mag.

 I also love Tesco Magazine and their additional RealFood mag. both come out bi-monthly, but hey their is two separate ones!


I find Tesco Magazine is consistently the best of these healthy living articles and they really seem to've picked mums as their target audience as the magazine is always topical for school holidays, Christmas etc with some brilliant little money saving suggestions and home make ideas etc. The website is also good, and easy to navigate.


Finally as a Sky subscriber I qualify for their free magazines, which really is a bumper pack of not only Sky magazine but also Sky Movies Magasine and the best of them all Sky Sports Magasine (this one is best as it will keep the otherhalf occupied for half an hour!)


Between the 3 of them we constantly have a whole shelf of our magazine rack full and whats perfect about these is that they appeal to both men and women, with sky magazine focusing more on women issues and sky sports being more styled on a mens magazine while the moves one tends to be passed between us. 
As you would expect Sky Magazines greatest asset is its wealth of Celeb interviews and insider info, they're always about 5steps ahead of the gossip. 
When quizzing the otherhalf over what he assures me is a genuine love of Sky Sports magazine he initially struggled to provide a better review than 'liking the interviews' leading me to conclude it must be a wealth of glossy pictures, however as I began typing he started to add a stream of other positives (typical man!) and concluded that it makes for 'top toilet reading' and its best feature is keeping him upto date with current sporting events (so that he knows which nights to make sure Im working so his football is uninterrupted!).


These are my top 3 freebies but do remember that most supermarkets/major stores have a free mag, and I mean its free so why not pick it up, even if it does just end up as bunny bedding the next week. Other favourite choices of mine are the Metro (found free on most public transport if you're quick enough) spending hours browsing my Avon catalouge and my digital subscription to Class magazine are my personal faves.

So many companies offer either a free mag instore or free digital subscription their just really is no need to actually hand over the money these days. I get my daily fill of gossip, reviews and real life stories from my Blogs Im following page of my Blogger dashboard, perfect for whiling away 5 mins not cleaning something or someone!!

Does anyone else have any favorites either free or paid for, and what are their best bits?

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