Along with saving money, I always keep my eye out for ways that I can earn a little extra money also. Over the next couple of weeks, plan on introducing you to some of my favorite methods.
Upromise
I joined Upromise back in July of 2001, way before I even had kids of my own. My employer at the time was one of the companies where you could earn Upromise money, so Upromise reps came to our office to tell us about the program. I thought the plan sounded great, so I signed on.
Since then, I have earned over $1800 towards my boys college, which is deposited into their 529 plan each quarter.
What is Upromise?
Basically, Upromise is a FREE program to help you save for your children’s college expenses (or your own current student loans) while you’re making your everyday purchases for things such as groceries, gas, etc.
How Do You Earn Upromise Money?
- Upromise credit card – We use the Upromise credit card for most of our purchases, so we earn 1% of everything we buy, 3% on gas at Exxon/Mobil stations, and 10% on participating grocery/household items.
- Online shopping – For many years, we began all our online purchases through Upromise to each cash-back in the college savings account. Now, I shop around for the best cash-back percentage, but I shop through Upromise when it’s a good percentage.
- eCoupons – I won’t necessarily purchase an item just because there is an eCoupon for it, but tonight I was planning on purchasing the New York Texas Toast anyway since we needed it and it was on sale at Kroger, so I used a $0.50 eCoupon for it. Upromise eCoupons are also the only ecoupon that you can use along with a manufacturer’s coupon.
- Groceries - In addition to eCoupons, you can earn a percentage on participating grocery items. Upromise tracks your grocery savings when you use your grocery store loyalty cards.
- Friends & Family – If you have friends or family who are not saving for themselves, you can ask them to sign up for a Upromise account and choose your child(ren) and their beneficiary(ies). They can allocate a percentage to each child if they have multiple kids to save for. My parents and in-laws are both helping save for my children.
- Gas Purchases – Our local Exxon station typically has the lowest gas prices in our area, so we would fill up there and earn Upromise money. We earn $0.01 per gallon from Exxon and then an additional 3% for using our Upromise credit card.
- McDonalds - Earn 1% from McDonalds Arch cards. After you purchase the Arch card, register your number on Upromise's site, and you will earn for the initial card and any reloads.
- Dining Out - Earn up to 8% in college savings when you go out to eat at 1 of 8,500 participating restaurants. You will need to check that you are dining on an eligible day for the restaurant and use a card to pay that you have registered with your account.
How Do You Join?
- Visit Upromise. You will need to register for a FREE account
- Register your grocery store loyalty cards and credit/debit cards so Upromise can keep track of your earnings.
Are you a member of Upromise? How do you like the program? Has it helped you in your goal for saving for college?
caron
Thanks for the mini tutorial. I started to sign up for Upromise a month ago and backed out. I felt like I didn't know what I was getting into! I'm going to check it out again!
Corrie @ "Cents"able Momma
If you run into any problems, let me know. I'd be happy to answer any questions about Upromise.