The September issue of Kitchen Garden magazine came with it's usual three packets of free seeds, I can't remember what they were, but I know one was cabbage and they will be going in this month, if I can fit them anywhere.
The thing is there was a free offer on the cover which I thought was really good, and it fitted in with my little garden now being a Victory Garden ... three 250g packets of onion sets. Now to my mind 250g seemed to be a small amount and I imagined a dozen of each at the most .
Nope there are loads of them!
The onion sets were free if you ordered one other thing and as I needed some garlic that worked out just fine. I can see my little Victory Garden being absolutely full of onions come next Spring. 🧅🧅🧅
I think I am going to need a bigger garden!!
Once again I am debating whether it is worth me carrying on with my subscription of Radio Times. It's £4 a copy now and although I do enjoy reading about new programmes and doing the puzzles at the back, I don't know if I can justify spending that amount of money on a magazine each week. Four pounds might not seem that much but when you think about it being £16 a month and over £200 a year it's starts to seem a lot more.
When I am trying to save as much as I can this year by keeping the food spend to around £10 a week, while I am eating down the food stash and living on WWII rations, spending almost half of that amount on a magazine seems ridiculous.
I don't think I am going to have to think too long or too hard about this one.
Sue xx
Hi Sue, If you have a library card you can download BorrowBox and Libby app free and sign in with card and get many,many magazines free ( including Radio Times) as well as library books and audiobooks straight to whatever device/computer/laptop you use - it’s a brilliant service and I don’t know why more people aren’t using it…..
ReplyDeleteBest wishes from Country Cook 😃
No I don't have a library card at the moment and to be honest I have so many of my own books that have yet to be read I just feel the pressure to bring more books in every couple of weeks would be too much for me.
DeleteI also don't read any books or magazines on devices or computers. I have enough to do on the computer with my day job so between that and blogging it is more than enough screen time. Any of my reading is done with proper books. I do still have access to all the Kindle books that I bought or acquired a few years ago when I used to have a tablet on my phone, so if I am stuck in a waiting room or suchlike I have a means to read if I have forgotten to bring a book.
Thanks for letting us know about this though, hopefully someone else will pick up this useful information. :-) xx
Hi Sue-Radio Times publishers often have offers so someone could give you a gift subscription. Currently you can get 58% off the magazine.https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/radio-times-magazine-subscription?promo=RTES23SP1&utm_medium=brandsite&utm_source=radiotimes.com&utm_campaign=easter_rtes23sp1&utm_content=subscribe-page&style=brand& I did this when I found my Mum was paying too much for this and other magazines she enjoyed receiving through the post. Good luck with it-and your lovely little garden too. Barbara
ReplyDeleteI did get my original subscription at that reduced rate and then was moved onto the full price. To be honest though I have a list of gift ideas for people to buy me this Christmas if someone should ask, things that I think will be more useful than a Radio Times subscription. What I could do is let this one lapse and then if I find that I am missing it ask Alan to get me a subscription for my birthday next year. :-)
DeleteHi, i got my radio times with Tesco vouchers that i saved up for. Sue
DeleteI baulked at continuing my Good Housekeeping subscription so cancelled the direct debit. Shortly afterwards I was offered 6 months subs at £9.99. Perhaps Radio Times might send you something similar?
ReplyDeletere the onions: Perhaps you could sneak a few into Alan's garden! lol....
Yes I have done that in the past with various magazines, it does work if you still want to have the magazines.
DeleteHaha ... we share the same garden so any growing room that I say is mine is in fact ours, it's just that Alan doesn't do any gardening so I just call it mine.
I've just written a post in drafts that says I still think I have 5 acres!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to go from so much space to a limited space isn't it. These onions AND the garlic would all have fitted into just one of the raised beds on our Welsh hillside. :-)
DeleteOoh, free seeds and onion sets are wonderful! Maybe start thinking of some sort of vertical garden on your wall? Or get a few more planters set up?
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, many publishers offer discounts on their magazine subscriptions. Or, perhaps include a request for a magazine subscription as a potential Christmas gift. I've done that with my daughter and it's a gift that gets delivered every month or so for a whole year!
I don't actually have any 'wall' space, there is the fence, but the main length of that has to keep it's panels moveable so that we have access to next doors garden. This year I did manage to train the cucumbers up some wire on the fence at the end of the garden which is a fixed fence and quite sturdy, so that worked well and will be done again. Sadly, I don't really have any more space for planters and my main pots are all full.
DeleteI've had magazine subscriptions as present many times, in fact this Kitchen Garden magazine was from last Christmas (or maybe it was my birthday I can't remember), but this years Christmas presents are all thought out now.
I stopped buying the Radio Times, when I realised that 1 months Radio Times was the same cost as 1 weeks electricity! I now purchase the Daily Express on a Saturday which has a perfectly adequate TV guide as I am not a huge TV watcher. Janet
ReplyDeleteIt's an eye-opener when you look at it that way isn't it. I have the TV guide on the Freeview box that I can check up on if I need to see what's on each day.
DeleteI’ve been having the same thought re The Radio Times - £16 a month!
ReplyDeleteDH really likes it though so it’ll probably stay. x
I guess it's cheaper if you look at the subscription price but it's still a lot of money isn't it. Luckily my current subscription will be including the Christmas double edition. :-)
DeleteI no longer purchase any magazines just look at what is available online. I do miss holding a physical copy sometimes, but the savings was significant.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
We all have to work out what is best for ourselves don't we. I'm so backed up with reading at the moment that I don't think I even want the physical copy and I don't want to be encouraged to watch any more television than I already do. :-)
Delete£4 a week for something you can get free on your PC/tablet?
ReplyDeleteThe other option to that which Country Cook suggests is PressReader. It is an app, activated with your local library card, and you can access magazines & newspapers from across the world, completely free. I haven't used mine for a while (really just not enough hours in the day!) but I think you have to sign in every six months to keep it going.
I don't have, or want to have a library card at the moment, and I want to cut down the time spent on the computer at the end of the work day, so that's really not an option for me.
DeleteI subscribe to Readly. A tenner a month and all the magazines, etc, you could possibly manage to read. The only one I have that isn't on Readly is the Slimming World mag and I get that free anyway as a member of the social team. xx
ReplyDeleteAs I've said I do want to cut down on computer and phone time so that isn't really an option for me although it's brilliant for anyone wanting to read a few magazines each month. They are actually more expensive than books these days, so £10 a month is a bargain.
DeleteI love to chop my fresh onions and put them in the freezer. Looks like you'll have plenty for months to come!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I will have to do that next year. I do hope they all come up nicely. I had one year in Wales when all the onion sets went in and were virtually the same size at harvest time ... not a good year!!
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