Top 12 Engaging Magazines for Seniors

Simple yet engaging activities, like reading, can be the perfect way to exercise your mind in the comfort of your home. Reading is not just a great pastime, it also helps lower stress levels. What’s more? You don’t have to limit yourself to novels. For instance, magazines give you a variety of well-researched, topical articles in one place. Today, the best magazines for seniors offer printed and digital versions, making annual subscriptions worth the money.

Best magazines for seniors

AARP: The Magazine

The American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP, publishes a magazine for seniors interested in entertaining yet informative articles. It covers popular topics, including those on improving overall health. You can also find text on savings and finances to help you manage your money after retirement and protect yourself from fraudsters. It also offers good reads on travel, entertainment, and style. Through its paperless and printed versions, the magazine offers valuable information for senior citizens to make the most of Medicare and Social Security. The membership costs about $16 per year. However, you can get the magazine for less than $10 per year for a 5-year subscription using offers on the website. The subscription may come with discounts on restaurants, gas, and wireless services, making it an incredibly useful option for the elderly. You may also find exclusive discounts on travel, like deals on hotels and car rentals.

Reader’s Digest

If you enjoy inspirational and heartwarming articles, you should get a subscription to Reader’s Digest—the fourth-largest magazine in circulation in the country. You get news, stories, and advice with a one-year subscription priced at $10 or a two-year plan at $15. Additionally, a subscription to RD.com gives you access to fresh online articles to keep you entertained all month. A few topics you can explore on the website are arts and entertainment, beauty, fashion, and food. If you want a hearty laugh, the “Humor” section has a top-notch collection of funny stories, pictures, and cartoons. The brand also holds contests where you can share a joke, gag, or funny quote and get paid $25. Alternatively, you can submit a funny, original story and earn $100. This way, you can enjoy reading while coming up with unique ideas to keep yourself engaged and stimulate your mind.

National Geographic

Finding safe and innovative ways to spend time is a common concern among seniors. Here, learning about new cultures and immersing yourself in new worlds might be the best pastime. If this sounds like something you would enjoy, National Geographic is the perfect magazine for you. This information-dense digital and print magazine covers topics like everything new in environmental protection and wildlife around the world. You may also want to visit faraway places to explore different communities. Here is where National Geographic comes in handy. With its well-researched “Travel” column, you can find the best times to visit and plan trips accordingly. The magazine also has a dedicated “Science” section where you can learn about the technology of the past and future. The annual subscription plan priced at $20 offers unlimited access to the National Geographic website and 12 engaging print issues delivered every month to your address. The price can change based on the availability of discounts on the official website. The magazine also lets you go back in time by offering subscribers access to issues dating all the way back to 1888 (its founding year), stored in its digital archives.

Generations Magazine

It is essential to read about the different ways to keep the mind busy and sharp to minimize the effects of aging, such as those on mental health and the ability to focus on or remember things. The Generations Magazine is a popular Hawaii publication curated by a team of experts who aim to provide valuable information to seniors. The articles focus on guiding you as you enter the golden years of your life. With the aim to equip seniors with information to deal with issues, Generations offers a community-like experience to older adults. This is also evident in its variety of offerings in addition to the magazine, like workshops and the weekly podcast. The official website has a calendar section to mark events like seminars and workshops to encourage seniors to find support and friends nearby. You can register directly on the website to participate in these events. Doing so may help you stay more engaged and socialize with others. You can get a bimonthly subscription to Generations Magazine priced at $3 per issue (6 issues for $18 per year). Once you subscribe, all you have to do is kick back and wait for the magazine to be delivered every other month.

Prevention

If you are looking for a resource that focuses on senior living and health, Prevention is one of the best magazines for the elderly. It is a lifestyle magazine providing a ton of information on health and fitness. With multiple articles on ways to improve health, the magazine can help you make positive changes to your lifestyle. It can help you learn more about the importance of sleep and mental health. Further, with an emphasis on age-related issues like memory conditions and menopause, Prevention’s team of experts also recommends ways to manage and live with such concerns. If you do not want to commit to an annual subscription plan, you are in luck. The magazine gives you access to four free articles per month on its website. You can choose an annual print or monthly digital subscription if you want limited access. However, if you find the content engaging, you can get the All Access pass for about $35 per year to get unlimited access to the magazine. For the price, you get 12 issues per year delivered to your doorstep along with other perks like bonus content such as healthy recipe ideas, at-home workouts, anti-aging skincare, and relationship advice.

Birds & Blooms

Spending time in nature and admiring its creations is one of the best ways to stimulate physical and mental health. A subscription to Birds & Blooms is the best gateway to the great outdoors, especially if you want to appreciate the beauty in your own backyard. The subscription plans for the magazine start at just $10, which you can buy on its website. The magazine features stunning pictures of bird and flower species around the world. That’s not all; Birds & Blooms has a “Backyard Projects” section where you can find a range of DIY activities to take up at home, like building a birdbath, bird feeder, and birdhouse. While you are at it, you can look into its DIY gardening and home projects to bring greenery to your living space. Such engaging projects can also help you explore ideas to personalize your surroundings and keep you on your feet, allowing you to stay mentally and physically active. You can also submit your own gardening experiences in the form of stories, videos, questions, and tips to the magazine’s dedicated team of experts, who may publish your work on the website. A Birds & Blooms subscription is a great way to explore your hobbies and hone your exploratory skills.

Priced at just $10/year, the subscription consists of 6–7 issues. The magazine also holds competitions, such as the “Spring Birding Moments Video Contest”. To participate, you need to submit your best videos of hummingbirds or colorful migrating songbirds using DIY projects. If the team finds the content entertaining, you can win prizes up to $500.

Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure is a must-have magazine for travelers of all ages. The magazine covers a range of topics, ranging from 50 destinations that you can explore through your golden years to the top 100 travel deals you can find on e-commerce websites. Travel + Leisure can also help you decide what to pack and skip when planning a trip so you have enough space to bring back souvenirs for yourself or family and friends. The publication also engages its subscriber base with its Sweepstake section, where you can enroll yourself to win prizes such as a trip to a popular destination or free accessories for your home. You can explore all the details of these prizes on the magazine’s official website. A subscription to 12 issues of the publication may cost you about $27 a year. Also, consider using the Newsstand offer to get 12 issues of Travel + Leisure for about $11 per year.

Cook’s Country

Cooking does not have to be just a chore; it can be something you do with friends and loved ones. Preparing meals on your own can also be a great way to unwind and try new recipes. It keeps you occupied while also giving you a sense of satisfaction when you make exactly what you like and don’t have to rely on someone else. What better way to enjoy learning to cook a meal than trying some of the country’s most popular recipes? This is where Cook’s Country comes in. The magazine is the brainchild of America’s Test Kitchen, a PBS program with millions of viewers. Each issue features easy-to-follow recipes for appetizers, main dishes, and desserts that you can make from the comfort of your home. You can also invite family and friends for dinner to enjoy your creations. The publication also reviews kitchen equipment and traces the local roots of iconic recipes, giving you comprehensive culinary know-how. However, the best way to make the most of a subscription to Cook’s Country is to submit a recipe you came up with or that has been a family favorite for years. If the editorial team likes it, they may print it in the next issue, giving you a free one-year subscription. This way, you can actively participate, helping contribute to the community of home cooks who enjoy discussing, preparing, and indulging in food. A one-year subscription to Cooks’ Country buys you six issues at $20.

McKnight’s Senior Living

McKnight’s Senior Living magazine is an ideal read for leaders and professionals in senior housing and assisted living. The publication offers strategies to improve operations to help older adults keep up with the constantly evolving environment. The articles cover a variety of subjects that can benefit the senior population in the country. A few popular topics here include legislation, discrimination, and dementia. However, the publication is a guide to senior living, with news and analysis on various aspects of the industry. You can sign up with your email address to get a daily e-newsletter. The print version of the senior living magazine is also free for qualified senior living professionals.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Retirement is a phase of life that requires considerable financial planning to live comfortably without worrying about the future. Sound financial advice can help reduce such stress about retirement. One of the best places to start is Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. A one-year subscription to this publication gets you 12 issues at about $30 when you buy it on the official website. Alternatively, consider getting a 24-month subscription for an additional $20. Both plans give you access to all the digital content published by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. Additionally, Kiplinger has a dedicated column on its website offering financial advice and news. Here, you can learn how to manage finances during retirement. Kiplinger’s experts also offer informative content, like how to best use Social Security, pick top-performing investments, get the most out of your 401(k) plan, protect your real estate investments, and find affordable and reliable healthcare packages. So, with the help of well-researched articles, you can make smart financial moves and lead a hassle-free post-retirement life.

Daily Word

Prayer can help minimize the effects of stress. If you are looking for spiritually inclined magazines for the elderly, Daily Word is the perfect pick. The publication features inspiration and practical teachings through its daily affirmation messages. The messages here may help you find ways to live healthy, meaningful lives, along with giving you practical tools to discover your divine potential. A few other topics that the Daily Word’s editorial team covers are world peace, healing, gratitude, and inner peace. You can grab your issue of the Daily Word by buying a two-year subscription priced at $28.95. With this plan, you get six bimonthly print issues per year and access to all the content on their website with audio. While the publisher, Unity World Headquarters, offers regular issues, it also prints versions with larger fonts for those who may have difficulty reading tiny print, making it a senior-friendly magazine. The subscription plan also offers access to archives of more than 90 years of daily messages that you can search by keyword or date. Subscribing to the Daily Word also gets you a daily email with prayers and affirmations that you can access digitally.

Family Tree Magazine

Now here is a fascinating read for genealogy buffs. The Family Tree Magazine is a unique publication that shows you how to learn more about your family history. So, you can start learning about your own ancestry through techniques like DNA testing and research. The website has dedicated sections for guides to DIY family history projects and crafts and ways to link digitized records to your family tree. If you have some time to spare, consider exploring the “Courses” tab on the website and registering for programs to master different genealogy tools and techniques. As for the pricing, a six-issue print and digital subscription to Family Tree Magazine can cost you $32 per year. The package offers information to inspire family search, tips for discovering ancestors who are hard to find, and ways to make the most of your time when you research your roots. Reading about family history can be an intriguing and productive pastime, helping you activate various regions of the brain, which, in turn, can strengthen cognition and counter the effects of aging.

A magazine subscription offers several benefits to seniors, with the most important being a means to stay connected with the world. The leading publications here, whether digital or print, cover topics like health and wellness, current affairs, finance, and fashion. Some also feature tips that can help seniors find engaging activities to stay occupied. Further, reading has always been one of the best cognitive activities for people of all ages, and let’s not forget that most reading material, including magazines, are great topics of discussion. So, you can talk to your family members, friends, and fellow subscribers about the latest articles and something new you learned after reading the current issue. This makes reading magazines a great way to socialize and build relationships.