If you read my blog regularly, you know that I LOVE UPromise. I joined in July of 2001 (2 years before I even had my first child), because I thought it was a great idea.
Basically, Upromise helps 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. Since 2001, we have saved a little over $1700 for college through UPromise alone!
So, how have we racked up the college savings?
- 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.
- 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.
There are many other ways to save, but I wanted a highlight a few of the specials going on right now:
- If you use the Upromise Gas & Grocery card, you can get 5% in Upromise savings (through 11/30/09) every time you get gas at an Exxon/Mobil station (you must purchase at least 20 gallons in a calendar month to get credit).
- Now through 11/30/09, if you visit a restaurant from Upromise Dining Rewards (and are a member...it's free to sign up), you can earn up to 16% towards college.
- Get an insurance quote for Liberty Mutual (through Upromise), and you'll earn $5.00 for college...whether or not you make the switch.
- Submit a service request through Upromise at Service Magic and get $4.00 in college savings.
If you've never joined Upromise, it's FREE to sign up and there are no fees on your account. You just need to create an account and then add your grocery store loyalty cards (and CVS) to your account as well as your credit cards. Upromise needs this information to link your purchases to your account for cash-back, and it's secure information.
Deb~ Frugal Living And Having Fun
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Deb @ Frugal Living And Having Fun
Frugal Urbanite
We're close to the $5k mark on Upromise because Mr. uses it for everything. Chances are we'll be using it to pay off HIS student loans, but the faster we pay those off the faster we can start saving for our future little ones.
Corrie @ "Cents"able Momma
Frugal Urbanite,
Wow...that's great that you have so much saved!