What's free today

In the age of online media, where reading the daily newspaper from your computer is routine and ordinary, friends often wonder why I still subscribe to the newspaper. Here are my reasons:

1. It's a simple luxury. I live an online life; I need to unplug like everyone else. And who can resist the tactile sensation of flipping pages? And its pretty cheap deal. I get 7 days for the price of 4.

2. It's a social thing. Dreamboat reads the with his coffee; I read it post-workout; my retired neighbors grab the paper when we're done, then pass it along to the person next door, who saves the comics page for wrapping paper. Doing good in all sorts of ways.

3. Keeps me smart and informed. And if that isn't enough, the daily crossword that I complete has bolstered my Scrabble score.

4. Reaping the benefits of free. The online version of my paper doesn't include the same level of free items/giveaways as the newspaper version. Here are a few quick examples:

- Coupons: I clipped over $125 of coupons from the Sunday paper. While I'll only use $8 from this week. I'll donate the remaining coupons to the local library where other savers can use them.

- Free movie passes. In today's Boston Globe, there is an ad for complimentary movie passes to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. ($22 savings, the equivalent of 4 weeks worth of the home delivery of my newspaper). All you need to do is send your name, age and email address to boystripedboston@alliedadvpub.com.

- Free audiobook from Audible.com. You can download a free audiobook as part of a free trial 14 day membership. You'll be required to provide your credit card information as part of the membership registration and the membership will renew automatically at the end of your free trial. Cancel your membership before the free trial ends, the download is free for you; and you will not incur any additional charges.


Happy reading