Upromise holds strong
8 years ago I devoted the vast majority of my web surfing time (which was quite a bit) to educating myself on finances, particularly long-term stuff like IRAs. Many thanks to good ol’ Motley Fool.
I was a very early user of a little startup called Upromise. I got really into it for a while. Then the full force of grad school expenses hit us, and I never really got back to it. When I first signed up, I had doubts that the company would really make it.
My interest (okay, obsession) with tax-advantaged long-term investing has really heated back up as of late. Sure, some of it is due to the economy, but not as much as you might think. Rather, we’re just now getting back to a position where it’s more feasible for us to actually save some decent cash. I know I know, there’s never an excuse not to save. Cut us a little slack.
Anyway, after setting up some 529 college savings plans for the girls the other day*, I remembered Upromise. I guessed (correctly) at my old username and password. You can imagine my pleasant surprise when my account popped up as if I logged in yesterday, when in fact it’s been 6 years! And my $13 is still sitting there.
It’s at this point that the reality of drops in a bucket starts to hit me. 1-3% bonus on a few select items and stores here and there just hardly seems worth the trouble. But as I scanned the list of eligible stores, I thought of the hundreds (okay thousands) of dollars we’ve given those retailers over the past 6 years. eBay. Best Buy. Target.com. JC Penny. Bed Bath & Beyond. Travelocity. Hotwire. Expedia. Apple (okay fine, it’s more like tens of thousands).
And then my subconscious reminded me of all those blue U stickers I see at the grocery store that I’ve been visually tuning out.
Well, no sense in lamenting the missed opportunity. With a good 16 years before our oldest heads out for higher education, there’s still plenty of time to let those drops accumulate!
*p.s. if you’re interested in busting open a 529 for your kids or anybody in your extended family, drop me a line and I’ll send you a referral code that gives you a $25 bonus for opening the account. Unlike many investing accounts, most 529s have no setup fees, very low minimums (like $25) and very low investment costs. Best of all, you can set one up online with no paperwork. Woohoo!