Stop buying magazines
Sometimes the simplest resolutions may be the hardest ones to keep. One of mine this year is to stop buying English magazines at retail. I figure if I can stop myself from this impulsive habit each time I pass by a newstand or bookshop, I can save quite a bit of money that way.
For example, a week ago I went to apply for my new HK Smart ID card in Tsim Sha Tsui; next to it is a Bookazine shop. After I finished with my ID, and with an hour free before work, I naturally went inside Bookazine to browse. There I picked out Handheld Computing for HK$79 (US$10), Pen Computing for HK$78 (US$10), Technology Review for HK$80 (US$10), and of course a copy of Betty & Veronica Double Digest for HK$40 (US$5). In total, I paid HK$278 (US$36) for 3 magazines and a comic. That's outrageously expensive if you ask me. And to think I didn't even pick a magazine with a bundle CD, which costs well over HK$100 (US$13.00).
If I could just stop myself from buying magazines at retail, I can save a whole lot of money in a year. With that money, I can subscribe to all these magazines and get 12 issues each. It is really the smarter thing to do.
I am already doing it with MacAddict magazine. It costs HK$120 (US$15.50) to buy it at newstands here, but a one year foreign subscription costs just HK$357 (US$46). That means for every 3 issues I pay retail, I can get 12 issues deliver to my mailbox. What a bargain. I say it proudly now, but it took me years of paying inflated prices before I finally took action.
I know I can do it again.