One of our financial goals is to establish a 529 Plan for our kiddies. We have a savings account and bonds for them, but haven’t established the actual 529 plans. Several years ago (actually in 2001), my BFF sent me info about Upromise – a site that pays you to shop (like Ebates) at online merchants and also using your grocery and drugstore cards in the store (Kroger and CVS are my two).

The difference with Upromise is instead of the cash rebates being paid to you, they go into a “holding” account for you to link directly to your 529 plan (or just be held in the account if you don’t have a 529 plan like us). So, I set it up. Today, I checked our account and we have a balance of ~ $550. All for doing things that I normally do everyday!

We have our CVS card and Kroger cards registered in our account. I also have my mom’s Kroger card registered too so I get her shopping benefits. You can also register your debit/credit cards to get cash back on certain “f2f” purchases (2% from Exxon Mobil gas). And, with Upromise, you can encourage family and friends to sign up for accounts and they can link their earnings to your child’s account. A way to help everyone get in on the savings for college!

Another reason our balance is so high is because we have a Citi Upromise credit card that gives us 1% cash back into the plan too (PLUS whatever you earn from using the Upromise approved links) . So, we use our Citi Upromise credit card for everyday purchases (of course, not this month) and pay it off at the end of each month – we get the benefit of the cash in our account for those purchases too. If you’re interested in opening a Citi Upromise card, please let me know as I have a few referrals to share – and I’ll get credit in my Upromise account too. My email is ardeckard at yahoo.

And, after reading Carrie’s overview on Upromise, you can actually request the cash from your account paid to you. All you need to do is complete this form here and mail it to Upromise requesting the monies in your account be paid to you as a check so you can invest it on your own if you like. You can withdraw your Upromise contributions at any time during your membership. To withdraw company contributions from your Upromise account, submit a letter in writing to Upromise requesting a withdrawal from your Upromise account.

I do love Ebates still (and always will) so I go through their site first to see if they have my online vendor and then check Upromise to see which will give me a higher cash back rebate. All our savings goes to our kiddies in the end anyway, right?!!

So, if you’re interested in signing up for your Upromise account, just click on the link above or on my side bar and start the process today! When you sign up, enter promo code 5tylenol during registration, and you will receive $5 into your account too!

*** Read about the eCoupons now available through Upromise here.

*** Read how Upromise can help pay on your student loans here.