Have a new baby? If you’re like a lot of people, you might already be thinking about college – specifically, how to pay for it. In a recent article, entitled "10 Most Expensive Colleges" (November 13, 2008), CNN listed the top ten most expensive colleges, with the highest tuition being $40,437 a year for 2008. That’s not much less than the median annual household income for the United States of $49,901, according to the U.S. Census data for 2005-2007. With tuition costs rising and the shaky economy, many parents are worried about being able to send their kids to college even though it might be 18 years away.
About the Upromise Program
Upromise is a service that allows you to save money for college costs by doing something most people do regularly: shop. The program, which started in 2001, partners with many companies that contribute a portion of your purchases to your Upromise account, which you can save or invest for college. Participating companies include numerous online stores and companies that produce goods you buy in the supermarket.
Upromise offers a credit card that contributes a full 1% of all purchases to your account, sometimes including bonuses and promotions. The service also includes a dining program, which gives you a percentage back from dining out at certain restaurants. You might even be able to receive college savings from taking out a mortgage or buying a home.
How to Save Money
So what’s the catch? There isn’t one. But you do need to follow the rules. To get college savings from shopping online at participating companies, you need to make sure to login to the Upromise web site and use the links to the site you want – or you can install the Upromise TurboSaver, a program that runs on your computer to help get your savings. You need to register your credit cards on the site and use them to pay for your meal in order to use the dining program. You can link your grocery and drug store savings cards with Upromise, as well. Pay attention to what you buy to make sure you’re buying brands that participate. It’s as simple as that. You don’t need to spend any additional money in order to start saving money for college.
Investing your Money
The money you earn stays in your account, or you can do several different things with it. Many 529 programs (education investment accounts that could give you federal and/or state tax benefits) participate with Upromise, allowing quarterly transfers of your earned savings into the investment account. If you have a Sallie Mae student loan, you can use the Upromise money to help pay off the loans.
Don’t have kids or student loans? You can even link your account to participating schools and give your earnings to them to help your community. You can also use the money yourself to go back to school, or take eligible classes for fun in something you’re interested in. The money you receive can be split among more than one child.
There are no restrictions on the amount you can earn. Upromise is a unique program that helps anyone get a head start in saving for college, and you can quickly sign up online. By shopping at your favorite online stores, using the Upromise credit card, or going to participating stores and restaurants, you can easily save money for college. Go to the Upromise website for more information.
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