College Savings Reward Plans - Making Them Work for YouWritten by Tim Paul
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Use credit card as an intermediary payment vehicle for large purchases. For example, if you borrow to make home improvements, pay contractors and suppliers first with rewards card and then pay credit card with your home equity loan. This will earn you additional points. However, it is very important that you pay your statement balance in full each month. Rewards earned at 1% or 2% will quickly dissipate if you are paying 10% to 13% interest on even a small balance. For rewards to accumulate effectively, it is essential that you use your reward credit card as simply a substitute for cash payment and not as a source of additional credit. Use Free Upromise and BabyMint Savings Clubs - Chances are that you frequent some of grocery and drugstores included in Upromise network and that you already buy products offering Upromise rewards. Since participation costs you nothing, there is no reason not to participate and earn additional rewards. Sign-up for "loyalty cards" offered by grocery stores and drug stores you use. Register these cards on Upromise and then use them every time you shop. The amount you earn will depend on your family's product preferences. As an example, Coke products earn Upromise rewards while Pepsi products do not. Resist becoming too loyal to brands just because of Upromise rewards. If either Coke or Pepsi can satisfy your palette, and Pepsi is on sale, it may be better buy despite lure of Coke's Upromise rewards.The BabyMint merchant network is not as extensive as Upromise. Still, program is free and there may be significant opportunities (especially for on-line shopping) to enhance your rebates. There are other college savings club programs available in addition to Upromise and BabyMint. However, for most part these are "copycats" and appear to not offer any distinct advantages over original Upromise or BabyMint plans. One exception is the edexpress plan which does provide generally higher rebate percentages than other savings club programs. The trade-off is that edexpress has a $24.95 annual membership fee. It's a worth taking a look at edexpress to determine if your family's spending habits are such that additional earned rewards will offset annual fee. Recruit Other Family Members and Friends - Following strategy outlined here, you can earn significant college rewards on your own. But building a network of family and friends willing to direct rewards to your child's college savings account can greatly accelerate your college savings program. According to Finaid.org, 60% of grandparents say that they would contribute to a section 529 college savings plan if asked, especially since they know money will be spent on child's education.Ideally, grandparents and others will use a college rewards credit card and direct reward earnings to your college savings account. However, with large number of other credit card reward programs available, you may not feel comfortable asking them to give up frequent flier miles to put additional cash in your child's account. On other hand, registering family and friends grocery/drugstore loyalty cards through Upromise will cost them nothing. Typically, card user will get in-store discounts for buying select items. Behind scenes, Upromise rebates accrue, but there are no alternative uses for these rewards. Often, use of loyalty cards also generates rewards for churches or charitable organizations designated by cardholder. This should be pointed out as encouragement to use cards. Following this strategy a savvy, disciplined family can reap sizable rewards from college reward loyalty programs with relatively little effort. As an example, my middle-income family has generated slightly over $1,000 in rewards in last twelve months. Certainly you cannot expect to pay for a full college education with loyalty rewards alone, but savvy users can build a sizable nest egg to help ease burden of college costs.
Tim Paul has more than 25 years executive financial management experience. His current areas of focus are developing strategies to maximize the benefits of HELOC loans and free college savings programs. His websites are HELOC Loans - Tips for Savvy Users and 529 Plan Rewards - Helping Parents Maximize College Savings
| | How to create an Irresistible Valentine’s Day Centerpiece:Written by Candee Stark
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3. Soak foam in water and place it in basket 4. Cut center flowers (carnations or roses) same depth as basket or slightly longer. 5. Stick these flowers into foam in shape of a heart~fill with enough flowers so no foam is showing. 6. Cut accent flowers to same length and fill in around heart shaped flowers until basket is completely filled and no foam is showing. 7. Flowers should be flush with top of basket or slightly higher. ~Create this centerpiece for yourself or make one for someone you care about. It will be sure to bring a smile to their face because they will know it was made with love!~ Happy Valentine’s Day! Visit me at Flowers&Garden for all of your gardening and flower delivery needs ~for Valentine’s Day and all year long!
© 2005, Candee Stark and Flowers & Garden.com This article is provided courtesy of www.Flowers-and-Garden.com - You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
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