It's all right if you like playing with fire. ;)

You didn't say what the item was. If it's anything electronic, I'd say wait, because you'll be able to get what you want for half the price. (Or, get twice the item for the same price.)

I've read about people who play 0% transfer games with upwards of $10,000 or more and end up making a few hundred dollars. Credit card companies are on to these games and have made them less fun to play.

There are a lot of gotchas to 0% offers, and you have to know them all. Otherwise, any savings you might have had could go out the window in jacked-up APRs or fees. Credit card companies use these offers to get you in the door. Think "First hit's free."

Plus, you're assuming that you'll still be able to pay off this debt. If something catastrophic happens, you're stuck. If you don't have the debt, you're not stuck.

I don't advise living beyond your means if you don't have to. That's how people get in financial trouble.

I think that you sound like you feel very stable financially and that you have a high tolerance for risk. If that is the case, maybe the 0% transfer games mbhunter mentioned are worth a try.

Have you found any short term CDs that might work for you?

When you mean invest, do you mean buy stocks for 12 months then sell them and pay off the balance when the 0% APY is set to expire? If so, I think that is very risky as stocks can go in any direction in such a short period of time. Yes, you could come out ahead, but you could also come out way down.

If I were you I would just simply save up the cash and just pay it all when you make your purchase. That way you will have it all paid off when you actually buy the product, therefore reducing risk. Also that will eliminate any chance of you making any spontaneous purchases at 0% and finding out after the 12 months that you can’t pay it all off! Plus depending on what product you might purchase you might be able to get a discount paying with cash if you offer them $5,000 or $5,500.