Here's my Public Service Announcement for all parents out there and no, uPromise did not pay me to praise them ;-).
Not many people understand the value of uPromise and use it to its full potential. This website provides a quick and easy way to save money for college. And the best part... it's FREE! Signing up for the website is FREE and even the money you earn for college is FREE. You really can't beat that, especially with college costs increasing yearly at a rate of 6-8%.
Here's how it works. uPromise has arrangements with many companies in categories like retail and travel. For each purchase you make with these retailers you get a portion of your purchase back into an account with uPromise. If you link your uPromise account to your 529 or other college savings accounts they will transfer money from your uPromise account on a quarterly basis into your college savings account. In order to get the rebates, however, you need to start your "shopping" process on uPromise.
Here's an example of how we earn on uPromise. The other day I needed to purchase a gift for a baby shower. I went to uPromise and searched for "Diapers.com". The search result showed Diapers.com with the current contribution rate of 5% and also listed the "deals" they have for special purchases on their website. One deal, "Free 2 Day shipping on orders over $49" sparked my interest so I clicked on the link and was directed to the Diapers.com website. I found some really cute things for the little baby, checked out and spent $166 (oh, and I bought stuff for Miss N too!). As a result of this purchase, I got free shipping and uPromise will put $8.30 into my account. As long as I don't return these items, that $8.30 will work its way into Miss N's 529 within the next few quarters. It's as simple as that!
That $8.30 may seem like chump change compared to the rising costs of college (I estimate our Miss N's tuition to be about $75-100K a year by the time she's 18.. yikes!) but it all adds up quickly. I try to go through the portal when I shop and in 19 months we've saved over $800 for college. To me, it's worth the extra step to take advantage of this service and after all, it's FREE money.
YES, U PROMISE IS GREAT. IVE GOTTEN OVER $ 300.OO BACK IN THE LAST 5 YEARS. THATS NOT BAD, I FORGET ALL ABOUT IT AND THEN I HAVE TO REMEMBER TO GO IN A HAVE MY MONEY SENT TO ME. AND THEY SEND IT FAIRLY FAST. NO PROBLEMS, IN COMES IN A CHECK AND IT GREAT...
Posted by: KKJJVV | Friday, August 24, 2012 at 03:03 PM