How to Get Magazines for Cheap (or Free!)

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Beautiful, glossy magazines may be your guilty pleasure, but they don't have to cost you a pretty penny. There are ways to get them at a discount or even free. Check out some of these suggestions:

RELATED: 13 Ways to Get Free Books

Your Local Library

There are so many free goodies to be had at the library, one of which includes an extensive collection of magazines. Not only do libraries have current copies, but they will usually have backdated copies as well. They might even have copies of magazines that aren't currently being published.

Doctors' or Dental Offices

In waiting rooms, you'll usually see a collection of magazines to thumb through. Ask the receptionist if you can take the old copies when they get new ones. They are usually pretty accommodating.

Online Forums

Slickdeals.net is a cool forum that specifically features awesome free subscriptions, so it's a good source to check out once in a while. Past deals have included Every Day With Rachel Ray and Better Homes and Gardens. 

Magazine Giveaway Sites

Some sites like RewardsGold, Mecury Magazines, and FreeBizMag will give you free magazines if you fill out a questionnaire and qualify for the freebies. Always read the fine print when you're signing up for these sites, and be careful when reading the emails they send out.

Subscriptions

Subscribe to your favorite magazines to enjoy huge discounts. You can either go to the official site or visit sites like Amazon and Magazines.com, which offer the same popular magazine titles at up to an 80 percent discount. You can also get a mail-in subscription signup form from the pages of the magazine.

Daily Deals

Magazine subscriptions often pop up on daily deals with phenomenal savings, so keep an eye out for them if there is a magazine you've been wanting to subscribe to.

Redeem Awards

If you have travel or credit card points that you need to use up, you can opt to redeem a magazine subscription. If the point program doesn't let you redeem the points for magazines, then there are magazine subscription services that let you exchange points for free subscriptions, such as magformiles.

Hold a Magazine Swap

Pick a good time for your magazine swap, and invite a bunch of people to come over with magazines. Not only will you get a chance to get rid of the magazines you've already read, but you'll also be able to get new ones for free. The people you hang out with tend to share common interests, so there's a good chance that you'll be interested in the magazines they like.

And when you're done with the magazines, don't trash them — here are some great ideas for upcycling them. You can even turn the scraps of paper into cute magnets!