How to opt out of phone books, junk mail, and telemarketers

When you are under financial stress, the last thing you need in your life are some of the more useless intrusions in your life, phone books you don't use, junk mail you don't open, and telemarketers who don't stop calling. There are several things you can do to get back control of that part of your life, and it is easier then ever to get these pests out of your life.

Stop Phone Book Delivery
Go to the site catalogchoice.org and put in your zip code. You will see a list of phone books that get delivered in that zip code. Sign in, fill out a form, and your deliveries should stop.

Chase Away the Telemarketers
Like roaches and other pests, even the best extermination techniques won't get rid of all of them, but at least you can take some steps to slow them down. Go to the US Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Do Not Call Regisry at www.donotcall.gov. The best thing about this FTC registration is that our registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the national Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to a federal law, the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007. You can also register by phone at 888-382-1222 (call from the phone you are registering).

Most calls should go away after about a month, but some calls will still happen for two reasons: some telemarketers don't follow the rules, and some classes of calls are not covered by the federal law. The classes of calls not covered include Business-to-business calls (the Registry is only for personal numbers), faxes, surveys, and companies with a prior relationship to you (you bought something from them or are making payments to them).

Your state may have a stricter law than the federal law, so it won't hurt to check.

Stopping Junk Mail
Things are a bit more complicated with junk mail. To stop unsolicited offers for credit, credit cards, or insurance, the three main credit reporting agencies have a central number you can call, 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688) where you can opt out of receiving these offers. You can also fill out a form at www.optoutprescreen.com to do the same thing.

For other kinds of junk mail, you can contact the Direct Marketing Association at www.dmachoice.org to register with their Mail Preference Service.