Like most parents, I'm interested in my children's future. I'd like them to be able to go to college if they want. I'd also like it if they could have a great college experience without a ton of student loan debt when they are done.
I've used the calculators. And let's just be honest here. There is NO WAY that we could ever save enough to fully fund our three boys' college educations. We'd have to put away nearly $2,000 a month to do it and that is just flat out impossible for us. We can't afford that, and we really do need to focus on our own retirement. Our kids can borrow money for school; we can't borrow money for living expenses when we're older.
When our oldest son was born, my uncle asked me if I'd signed up for Upromise. I had never heard of it at the time. For those of you who may not know, Upromise is a program that gives you money for your child's college tuition (in the form of a 529 plan) based on the products and services you buy.
At first, I was pretty interested. I mean, it's free money for college. It sounded like a no-brainer. But then, I learned I would have to give Upromise my debit card and credit card numbers so that they could track ALL my expenditures.
I couldn't sign up for it. It felt way too much like Big Brother for me. Essentially, Upromise could see how I spend my money, and then use that information to target me. I didn't feel comfortable doing it. But I also carried around a little parental guilt for turning down free money for my kids.
Then I saw Smart Money's article "Can Upromise Ease Parents Anxiety Over Tuition Bills?" and it reminded me of why I didn't sign up for the program:
"SUPPOSE YOU OPEN the door one fine Sunday morning to find a well-dressed man on the stoop. He's got a camera, a clipboard and an odd request: "Can Irummage through your closets and cupboards, watch you surf the Web and read your credit card statements for the next 18 years?" Good lord, he must be one of those consumer-data pervs. But just as you're about to slam the door in his face, he offers the clincher: "I'll pay your kid's college tuition!"
That's exactly how I felt about the program. Quite torn. But here's the real thing. People aren't making all that much money in exchange for their loss of privacy. Here's what the article had to say about potential earnings:
"While some parents have earned thousands, that's a tough feat unless you shop almost exclusively with Upromise partners. In reality the average member hasearned just $47 so far."Less than $50 bucks? Lucky if that will buy a textbook in 2026. If I'm going to give a company access to my personal spending habits, I want a lot more than that.
What do you think? Have you joined Upromise? Why or why not?
8 comments:
no, we have not signed up for Upromise but I had the same thoughts as you....with 4 children (2 who are twins) it sounds like a nice plan for their future....but I already feel as if enough "big brothers" are watching me....college is going to be a huge expense and our children will be dealing with how to pay for it, just as my husband and I have had to deal with our own student loans....unless we win the lottery, that is reality! thanks, Christina, for your great website! I truly enjoy reading it each day :)
I don't even have kids, but Upromise has scared me for a while. There's the invasion of privacy you mention, but there's also the idea of corporations in effect "sponsoring" your child's education. Having worked in higher ed for quite a while, there's already enough corporatization of higher education going on without adding programs like Upromise to the mix.
I signed up when my first child was born and cancelled my account about two years later because I had earned exactly $0 so far!
so I am writing again because I think I figured out how the identify myself....just giving it a try.....this is new for me :) learning how to manage and save money, however, is not new to me.....so I am thankful there are others on this journey with me!
Hi! What a timely post because I just sent a letter to Upromise yesterday asking for my funded contributions ($83) in a check. I make roughly this amount of money every year and have since about 2002. In the beginning, I sent it to my mortgage company but now I just save it (mortgage paid off) I don't actively shop for deals thru Upromise - it just kind of adds up by going to the grocery or drug stores. And I *wish* they would target me with some coupons for stuff I keep buying!
Glad to see I'm not the only one with reservations.
Shel, never thought about the idea of "sponsored" education. Creepy thought.
Angie, zero bucks.. hmmm. definitely not worth it!
Shelly, Welcome! Glad you figured out how to comment!
Amy, I think you're smarter to put that $83 a year on your debt... a lot of people don't realize you can cash out your Upromise money. I think you could probably do more with it on your own than they can!
I've also cashed about $80 out from Upromise. We have $20 in there now. I agree though - the program pretty much stinks.
S.B.
Add me to the list of those who have cashed out. Originally I pulled about $145 out and applied it to debt. I just looked and we have another $31 there so I'll do the same again.
Interesting post.
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