I’ve been thinking about cancelling the newspaper subscription. I’m trying to watch my expenditure at the moment, and am wondering if it’s really worth the money, given a lot of the news I read is online.
The pros of the subscription
Cheaper than buying it every day.
I definitely love having the Saturday paper delivered and reading it in bed. I read a lot of the News section, Insight, A2, Domain, Good Weekend and Travel sections.
It’s nice having it on weekdays over breakfast when the kids are using both the computers.
I spot stuff in the paper edition that I either wouldn’t spot online, or isn’t published online.
In many cases, graphics and so on don’t get online either.
I’m supporting the less dominant newspaper in Melbourne, helping it survive.
The cons
At present it’s costing me $30 every four weeks, or about $390 per year. A fair bit of dosh over 12 months.
Sometimes the plastic wrap and the way the whole thing is rolled up tight is really annoying.
On any given day, I don’t read most of it. On weekdays I skim through the news section, and throw most of the rest of it straight into the recycling. I’m even increasingly not reading the Green Guide (though I do keep it for a week.)
I want to read more books, but rarely have time. Removing the newspaper from my train journey would give me some time for books.
So, what to do?
I’ll mull on it. Perhaps I should suspend delivery for a week and see how I go.
One option is to drop it back to one of the part-week subscriptions — Friday to Monday ($20 per four weeks; $260 per year) or just weekends ($15.99 per four weeks; $207.87 per year).
Irony: I wrote most of this post yesterday. This morning, for whatever reason, the paper hasn’t turned up. And I’m missing it.
PS. Hello to any Age journalists who might be reading!
10 replies on “The paper”
It’s a tough one. We get it delivered, but hubby takes it to work and I get stuck with the online version until he hands the paper to me in the evening. And although online gives me the basics of the days events, I still like to get my hands on the hardcopy later in the day and have a look.
Part time subscription seems like a good compromise.
Why don’t you just read it online? The only one I now buy is the Saturday one…it costs $2.40…but apart from that the online versions work fine for me.
Reading in bed. Such luxury. :-)
My Mum just gets it delivered Thurs (for the Green Guide) and Sat (to read in bed and all weekend). I can’t see that option on the Fairfax subs page -I think she subscribes through her local news agent.
Working in an educational facility sometimes has perks. I can get the paper delivered on weekends only for $140 for the year, if I get a weekday to the office delivery sub for $15 (annual charge)
This is a great system, but we’re tightening our belts too, so we haven’t yet signed up. I do love having the paper, but quite often find that time escapes and we don’t read it as much as it fills our recycling bin, which is another reason to not sign up.
There are so many deals out there that would be cheaper than your retail subscription. They do it just to boost their circulation figures to charge more for advertising.
How about ditching it subscribing to the even smaller guy – crikey.com.au is less than half your Age subscription – and delivered via email Monday to Friday!
I used to subscribe to The Age and don’t anymore. I’ve subscribed to Crikey for about 4 years and continue to do so. I reckon it’s great value for money.
In my previous life in the USA I lived in an 80 unit condo (strata title) apartment building. Whenever I wanted to read the paper or classified ads for whatever reason I could always find a copy (or many copies) in the shared paper recycle barrels.
Scrunched up newspaper and Windex will easily clean and shine windows streak free too!!
I used to own a newspaper so I can’t believe I am saying this but…. send one of the kids out on Saturday morning to buy you the weekend edition so you can still read it in bed.
>>Iām supporting the less dominant newspaper in Melbourne, helping it survive.
And we thank you for that, Daniel.
I was going to suggest you went for a Friday to Monday sub, but you got there before me.
I read the newspaper on the bus to and from work. I can’t read a book as National/Ventura Bus think we all want to listen to Gold/104 as we travel to and from work. No way can I get into a book when the Jonathan Coleman Experience is filling the bus with its inane chat and 30 year old pop songs.