The Upromise Promise

Let’s talk about real free money!

Like me, most of my friends are married and/or planning a family. To those of you who are at present raising cute babies and bouncy toddlers, don’t pass the time until these kids apply for college to venture on opportunities to make some extra cash.

I’d like to share this practical and exciting activity to all of you, my friends and avid readers, so that you may consequently convince the cynics and squanderers in your circles to join the Upromise aficionados. This discipline-forming savings program is an amazing way to amass some cents and dollars when shopping, dining, gassing up, buying groceries, traveling, buying or selling your house and so much more. Savings ranges from 1% to 25% in college savings from Upromise partners. So, what is Upromise? It’s not as complicated as you think.

Upromise (www.upromise.com) is a free service that helps families (and individuals, too!) earn extra money for education by partnering with hundreds of like-minded companies who share the Upromise mission and who agree to provide YOU, the Upromise member, with rewards for using their products and services… and these rewards go into your Upromise account, where they become actual savings (that can be linked to a 529 College Savings Program (www.nysaves.org for residents of New York) for college, grad school or even paying down a loan.

At this time when the economy poses great concerns of inflation on food and other basic commodities, it pays to be frugal. More importantly, it pays to spend your hard earned money wisely. Since I joined Upromise almost 3 years ago, I’ve already earned more than $350. This money is linked and invested to selected funds in 529 account managed by The Vanguard Group. If credit cards work for you, I would also highly suggest that you apply for the Citi® Upromise® World MasterCard® or the Citi® Upromise® Platinum Select® MasterCard® that gives at most 10% cash reward for all qualified transactions. Here’s an example of what you will see in the “Transaction History” in your Upromise online account:

In the above table, notice the “Details” under “Funding Status”. When you click this link, this will automatically direct you to the savings you made for that specific trip to the grocery store. For this Stop & Shop visit, I had $0.07 cash-back for a tray of $1.40 tray of eggs and since I used my Citi Upromise MasterCard, I earned another $0.14 that gave me a total of $0.21 in savings.

I am not the best person to ask about investments but $0.21 saved in even a very conservative fund would amount to decent dollars in 10 years that could probably buy another tray of eggs or a box of pencils. For now, forget about rollover interests, dividend reinvestments and other funds growth model, what’s important is that the $0.21 is yours for free.

At the end of every tax year, your Upromise savings and contributions to 529 plans are deductible from state income tax, when applicable and subject to terms and conditions.

At the time of this writing, you can get $10 when you join for free and shop online through upromise.com. Give it a try and in 20 years or so, you promise to call me for the graduation party.