Most people don't care how much money they borrow in order to get into college — at least, not while they're in college and avoid payments by putting them off until after graduation. Students are taught to believe that going to college will lead to higher paying jobs, and thus - paying off the loans required for higher education will not only be "easy to pay off" but worth the investment, no matter how much that investment ends up being. When graduation comes and job offers do not appear - many students suffer from high loan payments that are not easy to repay, and daily struggle; And living from salary to salary begins.
Education is never a bad thing. And it should absolutely be a valuable investment - but having tens of thousands of dollars in debt as you enter the "adult world" after college can be a great experience for most students. College does little to prepare people for the high payments that come six months after your college days. As much as a degree should lead to higher paying jobs - there are no real guarantees that you will actually find a high paying job just because you finish college. If you eventually land this amazing high paying position - odds are it won't be your graduation day - and it may not be within the six-month grace period before your student loan statements start hitting the mailbox - which means you have to find another way. To make your student loan payments and keep up with daily living expenses with a lower salary.
The program at Upromise.com allows you to earn money on the things you already buy - such as grocery store products, online shopping and restaurants. The money earned through this program was originally designed to help families save for college for their children; But recently, Upromise was acquired by Sallie Mae (a popular education loan provider) and the program was expanded to allow people to apply Upromise earnings to their college loan payments. It works similarly to credit card rewards, in that every time you use your registered debit or credit cards to make a purchase with a participating retailer, a percentage is put as a "reward" in your Upromise account.
Once you create an account with Upromise, simply plug in all your debit and credit cards you already have in your wallet. You don't need to apply for any new credit cards, but if you decide you want to increase your Upromise earnings amount, a Citi Upromise credit card will help you earn more the more you use that card to make your daily purchases.
You can also ask friends and family to start an Upromise account and link their debit and credit cards. Any earnings they receive can be transferred to your account and can also be applied to your student loan debt.
You have to buy groceries and pay for other things - You can also link your debit and credit cards to an Upromise account and recoup some of these necessary expenses against the cost of your education loans. Every little helps!
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