The problem with being a magazine junkie is the amount of magazines you amass after a period of time. When I was in Malaysia, I donated them to my favourite hair salon. They get free magazines for their customers to read, I get excellent service. It’s win-win for both parties. However, over here in Australia, my favourite hair salon is quite a distance from where I live, and lugging kilos of magazines on the bus and train just does not cut it. So I donate them to my local Salvos.

Still, it really was time to cut down the amount of magazines I purchase on a monthly basis. First of all, even with Australian subscriptions (which is cheaper than buying them from the newsstands), I’m still creating a lot of clutter in my house. Not to mention a very costly habit too.

Thank God for the iPad.

More and more magazines are jumping onto the digital print bandwagon. A highly commendable move, because not only that it’s cheaper to run, it’s also more conducive to the environment. Less trees need to be chopped down for our glossies needs. I’m very happy about this, because with Zinio for iPad (magazine app), I get to subscribe to international fashion magazines for a mere fraction of the cost.

As an example, it costs about AU$69 for an annual subscription of Marie Claire Australia. On Zinio, an annual subscription to digital issues of Marie Claire US is about AU$10.12, which, in total, is just slightly more than a single issue of Marie Claire Australia. The cover price of frankie (an Australian mag) is AU8.95. On Zinio, you get 3 digital issues for AU$14.95. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Other than Zinio, there are dozens of standalone magazine apps like Glamour, Vogue UK, even Australia’s Shop Til You Drop (paper issue AU$7.80, digital issue AU$6.99. Although I still shouldn’t advocate this, since the digital print price is only very slightly less than the paper version). Not just interested in fashion mags? There are plenty of tech, nature, lifestyle, travel, etc magazines out there. One of my favourite magazines is the National Geographic Interactive. Highly recommended if you have an iPad.

You don’t have to bring any books with you when traveling because you can, literally, bring ALL of your magazines with you on your iPad. Now that’s convenient, plus it will save you luggage space.

So if you do have an iPad and love your magazines, I highly recommend switching to digital prints instead. It’ll save you the clutter, save you some money, and save some trees too.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, nor am I affiliated with Apple, Zinio or any of the magazines mentioned. I wish.