A good rule of thumb is to never purchase anything that you didn’t seek out.  If you didn’t wake up this morning and say, “Gee, I need a new robot vaccuum cleaner”, then don’t respond to the TV commercial for one.  The strategy of turning off the TV works well there, but what about other forms of advertisement such as junk mail and telemarketing calls? 

Take the following three steps, and in a few minutes, and for practically nothing, you can drastically reduce the number of junk mail messages and telemarketing calls that you receive.

1) Sign up for the DMA Mail Preference Service.  This is a list that you need to put your name on.  Many marketers will exclude the names on this list from their mailings.  A good summary of the benefits can be found at https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/. 

2) Sign up for the Credit Bureau Opt-Out List at http://www.optoutprescreen.com.  This is an effective way to reduce the amount of offers you’ll receive for things like credit cards, loans, and lines of credit.  A marketer may still send you an invitation to apply for credit without checking your file at the credit bureau, but most of these mailings should also be blocked by having your name on the DMA list above, so do both. 

3) To reduce telemarketing calls, go to the fabulously famous National Do Not Call Registry at http://www.donotcall.gov

These steps will reduce, but not entirely eliminate junk mail and telemarketing calls that are unsolicited.  This is a great low effort, high reward move.  You will still be contacted by organizations to whom you have voluntarily given your information.  All of these organizations should have “Do Not Solicit” lists.  If you encounter a particularly troublesome marketer, request to be put on their Do Not Solicit list.  If the problem persists, you could consider filing a complaint, but that could complicate your life rather than simplify it.