Inexpensive notebooks

I'm stringing, mostly as a hobby. My supply of legal notepads gathered as a full-time journalist is exhausted and I'm wondering where stringers/correspondents/freelancers go to buy notebooks? I like the legal notepads, 11 by 14 or whatever, but I consider $2 per or more to be unreasonable. I'm OK with school composition notebooks at a reasonable price ... 75 cents apiece for example. So where do freelancers go for notebooks? Do the newspapers or websites they are working for ever provide them? Is Amazon Prime a good place to get them? Help me out, please.

 

I had a pretty good relationship with the people at the papers I freelanced with and if I asked they were more than happy to get me a couple. If you're doing steady work for one or two or more outlets, I'd try there first.

 

That's less than $2 each:

 

If you do regular work for one local paper, then they'd probably be happy to give you whatever you need, because they probably have a bunch in storage. Legal pads, shorter note pads, pens, etc. If they're too cheap for that, then, well...

 

I know this is going to be very unpopular, but I spend a stupid amount of money on my notebooks. I buy a ton of Moleskines. For daily reporting, I use a large Cahier. They sell a pack of 3 for $15. It seems like a silly expense, but the feel is way better than using a legal pad (too big, doesn't flip) or a steno pad (which is my favorite office-issued pad).

 

Not sure why Amazon links don't show up, but their house brand yellow legal pads are about a dollar each.

 

Best of the best. Cambridge. The right size, not too big, not too small. Lots of pages. Thick wire binder won't bend or get mangled. Very sturdy back cover.

 

When back-to-school time rolls around, most of the big-box stores offer spiral notebooks at some ridiculous price like 19 cents each. I buy 25 or 30 and I'm good for the year. I leave a couple in a big Ziploc bag in the trunk in case I run across something or forget my notebook. The store might have a limit of 10, so I just put the first batch in the car, walk back in and go to a different checkout line. When I'm covering golf or something and I need a notebook that'll fit in a pocket, I cut a few across the middle with a table saw. The rules are sideways but c'mon, 9.5 cents instead of 2 bucks.

It just dawned on me: I'm so tight with a nickel, I could have been a manager at CNHI.

 

What is the deal with the giant notebooks? I prefer the standard 4”-by-8” reporter’s notebooks (Portage 1000, says “NOTES” rather than “NEWS” on the cover), which are just the right size to fit in the back pocket of my pants or jeans.

 

This is what I do, except I splurge for the 5-Star notebooks. I'm fancy. There are other reasons, though.
The 5-Star brand holds up better than the cheapo versions. When you sometimes have to prop a notebook on a sweaty arm in 95-degree weather (a more common moisture threat than rain), the plastic cover is much more durable than cardboard. The pockets are also better in the 5-Stars than the cheaper models. Basically, you get what you pay for.
Like you, I hit the big box stores during the back to school sales when they're on sale for about $3 apiece. I pick up five or six of them and that usually lasts me the entire school year.