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Taking Care of Children After Divorce
After a marriage is over and you have custody of your children, you will have the responsibility for making the important decisions about your children's upbringing and schooling.
In the majority of cases, the other parent still has a right to...
The Absurdity of the Public School Monopoly
The notion that local governments should have almost total monopoly control over our children’s education is not only unjust and tyrannical, it is also absurd. Children need education, to be sure, but they also need food, clothing, and shelter. The...
Putting Parents In Their Place
Too Much Involvement Can Hinder Students' Independence, Experts Say. They are needy, overanxious and sometimes plain pesky -- and schools at every level are trying to find ways to deal with them.
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College Savings Reward Plans - Making Them Work for You
You are probably well aware that college costs are soaring and that the need for parents to build college savings has never been greater. You may also be aware of various loyalty reward programs (such as Upromise and BabyMint) that pledge to help build your college savings by paying back a small percentage of the amount you spend using their credit card and/or buying certain products. Companies offer these programs because, in the aggregate, they know they will lead to higher spending on their products or services. Smart consumers learn to maximize earned rewards without altering their spending habits.
Reward programs can help build college savings. That's the good news. The bad news is that these programs have grown in number and become very complex. It is very difficult for parents to take time to fully understand, compare and select the program best suited for them. This article aims to cut through the morass and lay out a clear strategy for parents to follow to get the most from college reward programs.
The Basics
The various college savings reward programs fall into two broad categories: credit card rewards and savings clubs. The distinction gets blurry because many of the "savings club" programs also sponsor a credit card under the same name. Nonetheless, you can
better understand and optimize your use of the programs if you categorize them in this manner:
A college savings reward credit card is a regular MasterCard or Visa card that - in lieu of frequent flier miles or cash back bonuses - makes a 1% or 2% contribution to a college savings account based on purchases made with the card.
A savings club (or loyalty program), on the other hand, is a membership club through which a network of merchants offers members special rebates for buying their products or services. Rebates are directed to the member's college savings account. Some savings clubs have membership fees or require that you have their affiliated credit card to be a member. Others are free and permit the use of non-affiliated credit cards.
College Rewards Credit Card Associated Savings Club BabyMint College Credit Card Baby mint
Baby Center Credit Card Baby Center Savings Program
Being Developed edexpress Fidelity/MBNA College Rewards NONE futuretrust Credit Card futuretrust Savingforcollege Credit Card NONE The Education Plan Credit Card The Education Plan Citi Upromise Card Upromise
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