How to read expensive magazines for free in Singapore

I am a fan of The Economist. Every article is well researched, analysed, substantiated and argued. It never fail to provoke my thoughts in every issue.

It is also a very highly priced magazine – over S$500 a year.

To compound the problem, I may not have the time to read it every week and not being able to fully utilise its worth just make the subscription less attractive for me.

But last year I found another perk of being a Singaporean – I can read The Economist for free!

How to read magazines for free in Singapore

Yes, our libraries carry the physical copies but it isn’t always convenient to visit and read within the opening hours. Moreover, it is Covid period and we should minimise visiting public areas.

The good news is that there’s an e-magazine version for The Economist and I have grown to love to read stuff on my gorgeous iPad Pro because I get to highlight and save notes – I can’t bear to mark my physical books.

National Library Board (NLB) probably subscribed to Overdrive’s service and it had launched an app called Libby. You can download the app or access it via the Chrome browser like I do, it is pretty convenient.

Here’s a screenshot of the reading experience, you get the exact print version of the magazine on your screen. I can even zoom in if I want the words to be bigger. No magnifying glass needed!

You can also read the articles in a blog format (see below) and I use this version to copy text that I want to save.

Borrowing is a breeze too.

I just need to select the magazine and edition I want, click borrow and I can read it immediately.

The borrowing duration is 21 days and I can borrow up to 16 titles – the usual library benefits. Best part? The title will be automatically returned when it expires even if I forget to click return. No more fines!

I am also not afraid of sharing this with you because there’s no competition for the copies – it is unlimited!

You can head on to Libbyapp.com if I have got you excited about it.

You just need to sign in the Libby app with your myLibrary ID and you can access the e-magazines. Here’s a setup guide:

If The Economist is not your cup of tea, there are thousands of other magazines available for you – there are fashion, lifestyle, home decor and practically any topic of interest you might have.

Which magazine do I read?

But I shall share some popular titles for news and politics, and business and finance, to keep within the scope of Dr Wealth:

You would also notice the editions are pretty up-to-date and not some old magazines dump on you.

How much subscription fee you can save?

I was curious how much I would have spent if I have subscribed to all the magazines that I have interest in (even vague interest):

• The Economist – $509
• The New Yorker – $66.58
• Newsweek – $65.26
• National Geographic – $79
• Wired – $39.94
• Home & Decor – $35

That would be $794.78 a year in total or $66.23 a month! Plus the guilt and FOMO that haunts me if I don’t read everything cover to cover (which I never do).

Not everything is expensive in Singapore, especially when it comes to nourishing your brain and building your knowledge.

This blog included. You are welcome.