Magazine SubscriptionCustomer Reviews:
For Real, Not Simple, People 
I've read the other reviews denouncing the magazine as vapid and consumeristic. The Economist it is not, nor does it purport to be! If you enjoy great layout, graphic design, decorating, wearable fashion, and preparable recipes, Real Simple is for you. As for the product suggestions not being affordable: the interior design sections feature items from Ikea; fashion from Target; and food obtainable from your neighborhood grocery store. The magazine successfully recreates lifestyles featured in higher-end publications, and is comparable to Martha Stewart's 'Living' and 'Blueprint,' and 'Lucky' and 'Domino.'
There's no 'there' there. 
This magazine is great, once. After that, I'm kind of left wondering who subscribes to get the same thing, month after month. The photography and styling are beautiful, but the articles are superficial and many of the ideas, silly. For example, is it really a time or energy saver to take a photo of your shoes and attach it to the outside of the shoebox, rather than to take a Sharpie and write 'blue suede flats' on it? How many times can you reorganize your closets/bathrooms or buy new storage containers? I find, when I've read Real Simple, that I come away with a tip or two per issue, maybe. It's fun for a mindless half-hour in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Nothing worth a year's subscription.
How to live a 'Real Simple' life if you have the money 
I was drawn to this magazine by the beautiful photography and promises of useful tips on everything from cleaning your kitchen to cheap gift ideas. And yes, there are a few interesting articles, tidbits, and suggestions, but I started to notice that a large portion of each issue is used for advertisements. And as many others have pointed out, there is a LOT of product placement within the articles/features themselves. And many of these recommended products are so expensive that I concluded that this magazine is targeted at wealthy housewives who can afford these things.
However, what I like most about this magazine are the recipes. I've cooked some really yummy meals that were featured in the cooking section and recently they've added a 'shopping list' section that puts all the ingredients needed for the recipes in one shopping list. I bought the magazine for several months but unfortunately, the recipes alone were not worth the hefty price (and mostly empty content), so I stopped buying the magazine.
Defenitely NOT for the budget-minded!