Are you getting tons of credit card offers in the mail? Are you throwing them away? Are you insane? If the banks are offering you balance transfers rates of 0% for 12 months, and you’re not taking them up on the offer, then you need to have your head examined.

That’s free money baby! Yes, I said free money. The banks are giving you money and you don’t have to pay any interest on it for 12 months… now that’s free.

If you have debt on other credit cards, transfer the balance to one of these credit cards and pay no interest for a least 12 months. Around the 10th or 11th month, you will need to apply for another one and transfer the balance again.

This is a pain, you say. Well, yes it is. But you can save sunstantial amounts of money.

For every $1,000 you’re carrying on your credit card at 15% interest, you’re paying around $150 a year in interest. $2,000 equals $300, and $3,000 equals $450. If you have $10,000 on your credit card, you could be paying $1,500 a year in interest. You may as well burn your money in the fireplace.

There are some thing to watch for when applying for the balance transfer:

1. Pay the minimum balance on time! If you miss a payment, or you’re late, the bank pulls the offer and your 0% goes away, and high interest kicks in. Setup an automatic payment from your bank to make this…automatic.
2. If you can get away with, don’t transfer the balance on the initial application. Get the card, increase the credit line to handle your transfers, and ask them for free balance transfer checks.
3. Watch for fees. Most cards charge a 3% balance transfer fee with a maximum charge of $75. Then there are those cards that don’t max out the fee. If you’re transfering $10,000 that can cost you $300!
4. Limit the amount of transfers you do. Why pay 3% (or $75) for multiple transfers? If you can consolidate your debt onto one card or one account before the transfer, you could save lots of money in fees.
5. If you’re currently paying the minimum payment on your current credit card, your monthly payment may go up. Most of these offers have a 2% minimum monthly payment. For every $1,000 you transfer you will probably have a minimum payment of around $20 a month. However, this $20 is all principal! No interest!

In the end, transfering your debt to 0% balance transfer cards is a great way to save money.

Use the Fiscal Sanity Credit Card seach and start saving money!