Want an easy & affordable way to start paying your student loans?
So you’re in school and have received the loans you need to pay your way but you’re worried about how you’ll pay for them when the times comes? No, I am not a mind-reader, I am someone who shares the same concern for myself. So below, I share with you one way to help pay a little on your college debt without paying any additional money out of pocket. Read on…
Soon after I received my first student loan, I was sent an email about signing up for Upromise.com. Since it did not cost anything, I went ahead and enrolled. And promptly forgot all about it. Fast forward a year or so, and I am reminded about this through another email and I take a few minutes to pay some attention to my membership. (Brief disclaimer – Upromise offers a lot more than what I am going to be mentioning here as I am only reviewing the services that I have used.) It turns out that this might actually be a useful service.
Simply put, by linking various cards that I carry in my wallet (such as debit & credit cards and store club cards) to my Upromise account, I can start paying down any student loan that I have linked to the same Upromise account. For example, every time I by dinner at El Pollo Loco and pay using my debit card, I receive up to 8% of my purchase price back – paid into my Upromise account and applied to my student loan. Cool! Basically, even if I only end up with a couple hundred dollars back, every bit helps.
Now want it to get even better? Not only can you link your cards but you can send an email invitation to your family and friends to sign up as well. They then have the option to make you their beneficiary and all of their “earnings” will also be applied to your student loan!
Recently, I added a new component on to my account called e-Rewards surveys. By completing occasional surverys, I can earn e-Rewards currency (in two weeks I earned over $25). Currency can then be used to purchase college savings at Upromise. $25 of e-Rewards currency can buy $5 off of your student loan at Upromise, $50 e-Rewards = $20 Upromise, and $100 = $50.
The entire program is easy to use, easy to understand, and requires very little time or attention. Upromise tracks all savings that comes into your account and sends out a detailed statement of your accounts every quarter. As far as I am concerned, there really is no reason for you not to enroll.
