How to Profit from Junk Mail

When I went outside to get the mail today, there were piles and piles of junk mail (the same as every day). Lately my paper recycling bins have been filling up too quickly. It got me thinking about how I can make and save money from all of this recyclable paper.

There are two ways to respond to those credit card offers that seem to arrive on a daily basis. The first thing you can do (which won't save or make you money, but it is fun) is to rip up the application into tiny pieces and stuff it back into the postage paid envelope. Then, seal it and send it back to the credit card company as a statement of your disgust. The bank will be paying for the postage and someone will have to open the envelope, thereby using the company's resources.

The way you can save money with the credit card offers is to save the envelopes for your own use. Just put a white label over the clear box where the address goes and you can write over it. You'll never have to buy envelopes again. Sometimes, charities that send you junk mail have put a stamp on the return envelope instead of printing the "postage paid" information in the upper right corner. You can cut the stamp off and glue it on another letter.

Catalogs can have a second life by being used to separate your fine china. Or you can use the catalogs as padding when you have to pack glasses or plates if you're moving. If you are hosting a New Year's Eve party, you can use the catalogs to make confetti.

Do you receive ValPak coupons in the mail each month? Next time you see one in the mailbox, if you're lucky, you might have $20 waiting for you inside the envelope. Here's how you can profit from this. Occasionally, Northwest / KLM Airlines sends out $100 discount vouchers on roundtrip travel in the continental US and Canada. The vouchers are mailed in the ValPak coupons packets. Frequent travelers are willing to pay $20 for a $100 discount on future travel. You can sell your voucher on Ebay for approximately $20.

Gretchen Fleener of Minneapolis started a business with junk mail. She has a web store called "Junk Mail Gems". The website offers beautiful handmade magnets, wallets, handbags, beads and paper, all made from junk mail. Fleener also uses shredded junk mail to pad the packages she uses to ship the items. Sometimes, she is even able to use junk mail envelopes for shipping.

Junk mail is a part of life, but there are ways to profit from it. Of course, the greenest and most correct way to reduce junk mail is to contact the companies who are sending you catalogs and credit card applications and request to be taken off of the mailing list.