By Philip BrewerThere's a certain class of ways to get free money or free stuff simply by paying attention, keeping track, and being careful.  I don't do these things.  It's not because they don't work; it's not even because the risk-adjusted earnings don't pay for the time spent.  It's because time–and especially time spent paying attention–is very precious.
The clearest example of the sort of thing I'm taking about is getting a cash advance from a new credit card with a zero-percent teaser rate.  Slap that money in your high-interest savings account, pay off the loan when it's due, and you can pocket the interest.  Borrow $100,000 and you could pick up close to $2000 of free money in six months.
The thing that makes these schemes tempting is that they seem so easy.  After all, you already pay your other bills on-time.  For paying one more bill on time for six months you get paid $2000?  What's not to like?
Well, one thing not to like is that there's a dozen ways to screw up.  Accidentally use the card for an ordinary purchase, and suddenly the interest rate is no longer zero.  Make a payment late and suddenly the rate jumps up …

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