Yesterday, I was blogging about using coupons to save money on purchasing your baby products. It is also time for all of us to start saving for the significant future cost of college and find ways to gain additional money for it. As a stay at home dad of a 10 month old, it is hard to figure out a plan for the current day, let alone his future. I recently signed up for a “529 College Savings Plan” which allows me to invest after tax dollars into an account that will then be tax free when the he is in college. These accounts may not be the right choice for everyone because you can’t control the market and it’s volatility, and you can only pick from a very limited choice of stock funds. Consequently, once you sign up for a 529 account, you can also establish a UPROMISE Account.
Upromise is a FREE way to earn additional money for your kid’s college fund. Basically, you sign up for an account which is relatively simple, and then you link your account to all of your credit cards (you can link them to your parents cards as well). Upromise has agreements with many online stores. If you shop through a link on the Upromise page, you will be credited back 1-8% and even up to 25% in a few limited cases of your purchase price. Many online stores participate in this program and if you shop on line a lot, you can earn quite a bit here. Restaurants, some grocery stores, gas stations, Kodak Gallery, and some local stores give rebates, such as dry cleaners, florists or mechanics, if you buy the product using a credit card registered with Upromise. Sometimes large chains, such as Bed, Bath and Beyond offer discounts as well. You need to keep checking their site to see which new vendors have been added or changed their rebate terms.
I have been using Upromise for about two months now and have earned an additional $25.oo so far for my son’s college fund. I agree it does not sound like a lot. However, I did not have to do anything different to earn it, and at this pace I will earn approximately $150 in one year, and have $2,700 by the time my son is 18! Not bad at all. Check out Upromise to see if the program might work for you to save additional money for your child’s college fund.
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