One of the disadvantages of being thrifty is that it seems like you end up on a lot of other peoples mailing list.  It seems like everyday in Mr. Thrifty’s mailbox he gets an offer for a credit card or one of those post cards that have the missing children on the front of them and advertisements on the back.  While these are not costing Mr. Thrifty any bling, they are a hassle to try to sort though to find the “important” mail ‘o the day.  This guide outlines some tips and tricks on how you can dramatically reduce the amount of junk mail that you get.

Every wonder how you get on the junk snail mail lists?  The answer is simple, in the age of database marketing, almost ANYTIME you give your name, address and phone number to a company there is a good chance it is gong to end of on a “send me junk mail” list somewhere.  Some of the more common places where your name gets added:

1) When you subscribe to a magazine

2) Apply for a credit card

3) Fill out one of those “warranty registration card” for that piece of electronics you bought

4) Buy a car

5) Sign up for one of the grocery store loyalty programs

6) Enter Ed McMahan’s sweepstakes

7) Donate to a charity

As the adage goes, “no good deed goes unpunished.”  While it may anger you a little bit to know anytime you do one of the above activities you are going to be rewarded with a bunch of junk mail on the back end.  The good news is that you can dramatically reduce your junk mail!  While there is not a magic bullet like the national “do not call list” you can get you name removed from most of the databases pretty easily.