Saving Money on Newspapers (NYT and WSJ)

Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!

US newspapers have had a tough past 20 years, with total readership down by nearly two-thirds (source: Pew Research), but many of us still read and enjoy them. Newspapers are, however, quite expensive. In our household, the NYT and WSJ are essential, and we even pay for a physical WSJ delivered each morning. Here’s how we keep our costs down:

The NYT

The “full price” for an NYT digital subscription is $17/month ($28/month for “All Access” to cooking, games, etc), but you should never, ever pay this.

For several years, we’ve paid $4/month for a basic digital subscription, only recently increasing to $5/month for “All Access”. How do we do it? Simply follow the instructions in this post, setting an annual reminder to check in with Customer Care to make sure your low rate remains in place.

The WSJ

Discounts for the Wall Street Journal are tougher to come by. For a digital subscription, the best introductory deal I’ve found is a $0.50/week for a year offer through RetailMeNot.

For a print subscription, the best deal I’ve found is a one-year gift print subscription for roughly one-third less than the WSJ’s promotional offers (plus a $25 Amazon.com gift card). $310/year is a lot of money, but over 80% cheaper than the newsstand price, delivered to our home each morning.

If you’re a student (not many SMwA readers, but worth mentioning), the prices are even better at $24/year for a digital subscription or $10/month for print and digital.

And of course, the best deal of all is to get newspapers and other periodicals through your local library. Our library has physical copies, of course, as well as at-home access to a database with every major newspaper.

Have you found great deals on newspaper subscriptions? I’d love to hear from you.

And now, Andrew’s pick(s) of the week:

How Chinese Students Experience America

She Won the Boston Marathon 10 Years Ago. She’s Still Waiting for Her $100,000.

A Day in the Life of a Walmart Manager Who Makes $240,000 a Year

‘Responsible Gambling’ Campaigns Always Fail. That’s the Point.

Four Questions Retired Couples Should Ask Themselves About Their Finances—Today

I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it on social media! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.