I joined Upromise several years ago to begin saving for my children's college education. I'd heard of Upromise before, but I put off signing up. I shouldn't have, and you shouldn't either!
I'll give you the full review down below. However, if you want to make better use of your time, simply register with Upromise and get started. This is one of those things that everyone should do as soon as possible.
Upromise is a free, once-and-done program that will earn you free money toward a college education. The money you earn for education will not cover a $100,000-per-year tuition bill, but it will gradually but steadily help you increase your college savings.
Furthermore, it is extremely simple to set up, allowing you to go about your business while your college savings grow.
Who is Upromise?
Michael Bronner, the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Digitas, a leading marketing services firm, founded Upromise. SLM Corporation, also known as Sallie Mae and the nation's leading college-payment company, acquired Upromise, Inc. in August 2006.
Since 2001, Upromise has distributed over $1 billion in tuition assistance.
How Upromise Works
In short, simply purchasing from Upromise's partners earns you a commission. They gave you a cut of the commission.
Simply sign up and enter the information from your credit card, debit card, or store loyalty card. The rest is handled by Upromise. They track your spending and pay you a percentage of what you spend when you buy from one of their partners. Expedia, JCPenney, LandsEnd, Sears, Walmart, Staples, Apple, and hundreds of other companies are among Upromise's partners.
What makes this so great is that you don't even have to think about where your money is going. Upromise has partnerships with the majority of the places you will visit anyway. There are some ways to optimize your savings with Upromise (see below), but they aren't required to achieve the base level of savings.
When you're ready, simply request a check, transfer it to a 529 Savings Plan, or use it to pay off your own student loans.
What’s the Catch?
There isn't any catch. Upromise is an entirely free service. They make money by charging Upromise partners to participate and for marketing opportunities.
How Much Can You Really Save?
I'm still learning how to use Upromise. So I can't exactly brag about how much money I saved thanks to the program. I think I've saved about 21 cents since I started a few weeks ago. Ha! Others, however, have gone before me. And they have some serious cash to show for it:
- FiscalGeek.com's Paul saved over $700!
- Sun of TheSunsFinancialDiary.com saved nearly $500 in 2008!
- Emily Guy Birken, a writer for this website, has saved over $3,000!
Those figures will not cover your child's four years at Harvard, but they will provide some assistance. And if you can earn that much without doing anything extra, you've done well. Money for nothing!
Final Thoughts
As with any savings system, don't let the opportunity to save influence your purchasing decisions. For example, don't just look through the Upromise merchant list to find something to buy so you can save for college. However, if you're already planning to buy, look through their list of merchants and consider using their link.
Also, consider how Upromise may influence your decision to use your credit or debit card more frequently than usual. Bottom line, as long as you can set this up for yourself and don't drastically change your spending habits, it will be beneficial to you. To get started, go to www.upromise.com.
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