Free money. It sounds too good to be true. But if you are careful there is loads of it out there. You have to pay it back of course. But for six or even nine months you can buy stuff on credit and pay no interest on it. And if you play your cards right, you can move the debt at the end of that time and pay no interest for even longer.

There are more than 20 credit cards out there offering zero percent interest on purchases for six months or more. At the time of writing, PC World Marbles Card offers nine months at 0%! So take out a card and do your shopping. When the 0% deal runs out, find a new card – this time one that offers 0% on balance transfers. Again, there are around 20 of them. Move your balance and enjoy more interest free debt. You can carry on like this as long as you can find and get a new card. But remember you will have to pay the debt off at some point.

Make sure you only use the card for the 0% rate. Don’t take out cash – there will be charges and interest – and don’t buy anything on the card once the free interest comes to an end. If you transfer a balance to a new card do not use that card to buy anything or you may end up paying interest.

Above all, take care. Debt is debt. But with a bit of thought it can at least be interest free.

www.moneyfacts.co.uk lists the best deals on credit cards.

May 2003

e-mail Paul Lewis on paul@paullewis.co.uk