@Upromise - “Elephant in the Room Campaign" #MyFinancialElephant #sponsored

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Full Disclosure Policy

Upromise by Sallie Mae recently launched its “Elephant in the Room Campaign,” aimed at encouraging an open and honest conversation among families to address common financial worries (or, “elephants in the room”), and face them head on. We’ve ignored certain financial issues too many times, and now it is time to release the burden and talk about it.  Financial “elephants” can include paying off college debt or neglecting to save for your children’s college education, among other topics. 

I know all about financial worries and college debt. Not only am I a blogger, but my day job is working in the financial aid office at a college. I also had to borrow student loans for my last two years of college and then my husband borrowed them for his doctoral degree. The cost of college, let alone the student loan debt, can cause financial worries and hardships on families. A struggle I see every day at my job is children wanting a college education, but without saving or planning some think that college is not an option. In fact, according to a recent survey by Sallie Mae, only half of all families with children under 18 have saved any money for college.

Upromise wants families who are worried about the financial burdens of a college education to know that even when budgets are tight, taking advantage of free-to-join programs like Upromise help get a head start on the savings process—without drastically changing spending habits.

  
Upromise is a free to join membership service that allows families to earn cash back for college.  It is as simple as earning up to 5% cash back while shopping for the things you buy all the time.  With the holidays coming, you can shop at a number of Upromise partners which include more than 850+ online stores and 10,000+ restaurant locations, grocery and drugstores. Popular online retail partners include Amazon.com, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Macy’s, and more.  Shopping for gifts and earning money for college at the same time sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Still unsure?  Well as of today, Upromise members have earned over $850,000,000 and counting, helping families contribute to college tuition, expenses and loans. They offer different ways for users to allocate their cash back earnings to help plan, save and pay for college. Upromise members can:

• Transfer earnings to eligible 529 plans or high-yield savings accounts
• Apply earnings to eligible student loan repayment
• Request a check for cash for books and other expenses
• Split up earnings across multiple beneficiaries (perfect for those of us with multiple children entering college close to each other!)

Share your financial “elephant in the room” with us on Facebook at bit.ly/UpromiseElephant, or on Twitter @Upromise, using the #MyFinancialElephant hashtag. Get involved and share your financial elephants too!  We can help each other by expressing our feelings, being a sounding board, etc.