Do you Upromise? ~~ Saving for College

[Loves Vintage]

https://lty.s.upromise.com/welcome

I've been using upromise for a few years now. A friend invited me to start saving on her daughter's behalf. I've now changed the account over to my name and will contribute funds earned (from buying on-line, for certain grocery store purchases, dining out, etc.) into a 529 account. I earned a few hundred dollars for my friend's daughter's education, which is not bad, considering I wasn't really trying.

Just wanted to pass this site along as I'm not sure I would have found it on my own, but maybe all the mommies know about it already?

 

[Bliss]

Loves Vintage, thanks! This is such an awesome idea - I have been meaning to sign up with Upromise for the past couple of years before we were even TTC. So many of my friends use it and they've already made a few thousand in a few years. Great idea! It's so easy and you can make so much here and there for doing nothing at all but buying what you'd normally buy! Thanks for the reminder!!!! I'm kicking myself for procrastinating but now I'll finally sign up!

ETA: I just signed up finally! Wheee! DH is like, "Why are you so excited?" LV, we're really parents now! LOL... I could have racked up a few thousand easily in the past year and looking at the vendors is making me kick myself for not signing up sooner. ARGH!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Haha! Yay, so glad you signed up, Bliss! Don't even worry about what you spent already. Look at all the $$$ you'll save on baby stuff alone!

 

[davi_el_mejor]

I do, it's for my neice and nephew. I'm not a total Upromisenaut, I don't go out of my way to get as much money as possible, but in 6 years I have save almost 100 for them. I know, not a lot but it'll be a nice graduation present. I have 12 more years to save for the nephew and 15 years for the neice.

The Turbosaver is amazing. It's an add on for your web browser and automatically collects your purchases into your account. Ebay, travel sites, they all give a percent. It's totally worth the download.

 

[anchor31]

Upromise is not available in Canada (although I think it's a brilliant idea!), but we opened a RRSP for Jacob when he was 6 weeks old. We get a "Child Tax Benefit" from the federal government every month and put it directly into the RRSP. I have no idea how much that amount is going to pay for in 18 years, but at least we'll be able to chip in.

 

[wyndham]

LV, thank you so much for posting about Upromise! Like Bliss, I too had been meaning to join for a while but never had...and now I'm kicking myself! For anyone else who might be interested in Upromise -- it's also a great way to pay down college / graduate school loans (in addition to saving for 529 plans). I had no idea that so many vendors were on here!

A few perks that I've discovered in the last few days:
1) If you like to dine out a lot, you can register (for free) as a 'Preferred Diner' and get cash back at local restaurants. I figured out that a lot of our local favorites are on here...so I'm looking forward to getting cash back at places we frequent anyway. Most of them are between 4% and 8% cash back, so that should really add up over time.

2) Local grocery stores and pharmacies allow you to register your 'store card' (the little discount one you get for free) with the Upromise website, so everytime you use it on selected items, you get cash back. For anyone living in a more urban area: Peapod (grocery delivery) also contributes to Upromise...just an FYI.

Thanks again for starting this thread...I'm hoping my loans get paid off a bit faster this way!

 

[kelpie]

I've been doing it for 4 years and have saved all of $3.89.

 

[Lanie]

Do they have a guarantee they will be around to give you your money in 18 years?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Wyndam, Glad the post helped motivate you to join!

Kelpie, You are right, the funds do not add up very quickly, unless you make a lot of on-line purchases (eBay, etc.) or have a large family in your network.

Lanie, The money you earn goes into a linked account, which could be a 529 account, savings account or CD, so even if uPromise no longer exists, the funds are still in your account. Or, you can use the money to pay student loans. I haven't done this, so I'm not sure how it works.

ETA: I only posted this as an fyi in case others didn't know about it. I am certainly not an expert on the topic, so I don't want to answer any more questions about the company for fear of giving out incorrect info. I'm sure they have plenty of info on their website.

 

[soocool]

I have been using Upromise since DD was about 6 years old. She is now 17. There is $1,000.00 in her account (might be more). There was definitely more money to be saved in Upromise earlier on. I remember purchasing appliances that qualified for $50.00 in savings for each one I purchased. Also, DH's corporate cc is registered with them so everytime he travels, takes clients out for dinners (these get very pricey dinners too) we have reaped the benefits. Pep Boys, Bed Bath and Beyond and some other storesused to contribute in the past but many have dropped out. At least the funds will pay for her books in college.