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lavendt
08-15-2001, 04:32 PM
I'm hoping someone can help me with a problem. Recently, I saw a website in one of the baby magazines that had something to do with companies (like toys r us and other baby/kid related) contributing to a child's college fund. When you made purchases from stores and/or bought certain brands, the companies deposited money into the account... Does this sound familiar? I'm going nuts trying to find the web address... I saw the address in a magazine within at least the last three months and I'm sure I was trying to do way to many things at once and didn't tear the page out promptly and now I can't find it! Does such a website sound familiar? Many Thanks!

mom@home
08-15-2001, 09:37 PM
The website is called www.upromise.com. Consumer Reports had a special report on this program in their July 2001 issue. The way it works is that you sign up for the plan online and you have to give Upromise all your credit-card and company loyalty info from supermarkets and other retailers so that it can track your purchases. You also must sign up for a 529 tuition savings plan. A percentage of the money you spend on member-corporation products will be directed into your child's 529 account. However, CR warns that only a very small percentage (1% to 4%)will be contributed from these companies. For an example, they say that if you buy a $33,000 car, 50 gallons of gas a week, 1000 2-liter bottles of Coke, $2000 in pencils at Stapeles, and have a $1200 long-distance bill, you've spent $42,354 but added only $309 to your child's account. They also warn that buying from plan sponsers may mean that you miss out on better deals from other companies. The bottom line - CR doesn't think the plan is worth it. They do list a website called www.savingforcollege.com as a good source of info on the subject. I hope this was helpful - good luck!
-Lauren

webma
08-22-2001, 10:41 AM
The other site is
http://www.babymint.com/

It seems to offer higher rebate amounts than upromise but I agree with the previous poster that I'm not sure it's worth it.