0% until 2009

Speaking of teasers, I just received a letter informing me of a way to lower my interest rate and help my Alma Mater at no additional cost to me!

Going for the teaser isn't always a bad idea. I have an account with a certain national bank that offered me a teaser like this last year. So now the tease is up and we're closing in on regular rates, i.e. rates even Shylock would be embarrassed to charge. So was I a fool to go for it? Not necessarily. I had already grown so fed up with my debt that I swore I would be more responsible with my credit cards. For me this responsibility included not using them at all. Aside from unforeseen emergencies, I would simply have to do without until I had enough money in the bank to cover whatever it was I wanted. And (this is the important part) I stuck to it. I created a schedule that would ensure I paid off the credit card by the time the teaser expired ($200/mo. for 12 months), and I stuck to it ... for nine months.

Month number nine included a trip for my wife to Texas for a conference she wished to attend. Normally, I would have said, "No emergency; no way." But considering the presence of conference members in positions to offer positions, we made an exception. As it turns out, the gamble paid off, and she learned about a job she would have never had the opportunity to apply for without attending. Even more importantly, she got that job. I mention this to illustrate that dogged adherence to this sort of schedule may not necessarily be for everyone. Only you can determine when it's worth risking a break from the path. It worked for us; it might not work for you.

In the end, I've still got a balance on the card. But this balance is considerably less than it would have been had I stuck with my old card at Shylock's special rate. The key, as always, is discipline. If you don't have it, don't go for it. You'll just end up telling yourself you're saving money while running up more debt that will bite you back a year later. "Know thyself"—a pretty good motto in general.

So what if you can't help yourself? The best way is to stop the offers from coming. According t0 41pounds.org, the average American adult receives, you guessed it, 41 pounds of junk mail every year. Not all of that is credit card offers, but if you're mailbox looks anything like mine, about 1/2 to 2/3 is. 41pounds offers a service to eliminate up to 95% of this junk mail from your mail- or P.O. box. The cost? $41 dollars for five years, and they donate 1/3 to environmental or community organizations you choose when you sign up at www.41pounds.org. Help the environment; help yourself. At the very least, send those unwanted offers straight to the recycling bin.