Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Pinterest
Edit Content
ABOUT AUTHOR
Alison Housten

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullam.

Contact Me
Email Address

contactus@EightyMPHMom.com

Sallie Mae – $10 Overstock & $10 Petsmart Gift Cards Giveaway 5/12

It is an exciting time of the year for those graduating high school.  Thoughts college swirl around in their heads while the monetary aspect of college is going through the minds of their parents.  It is exciting and scary all at the same time.  I remember it well when my son was accepted to a state college a few years ago, and it was quite a project to figure out how we were going to pay for it.

Sallie Mae is here to help!

Sallie Mae is challenging families to “Test Their Financial Aid Package IQ” for April, Financial Literacy Month. This month, financial aid award letters will start arriving to the homes of more than three million students – next year’s college freshman. Two-thirds of undergraduates receive some financial aid each year, with awards to full-time students averaging $12,740. However, if the financial aid package, such as grants, scholarships, work-study and federal loans comes up short, Sallie Mae recommends families explore these tips:

  • Talk to the campus financial aid office if family finances have changed. Colleges can adjust their award packages when a family encounters special circumstances, such as if a parent is laid off or takes a salary cut.
  • Consider a private education loan that encourages you to pay it off faster and save money on interest. A private education loan may be right for those who still have a gap after exploring federal financial aid or who want to investigate whether they qualify for a lower variable interest rate based on good credit. With Sallie Mae’s Smart Option Student Loan, students attending degree-granting institutions can select from three in-school repayment options: an interest-only monthly plan, a simple $25-per-month plan, or a new no-minimum-monthly-payment-required deferred plan. Sallie Mae works with applicants and higher education institutions to help students avoid borrowing more than they need. To learn more, visit www.SallieMae.com/ChooseSmart.
  • Use an interest-free tuition payment plan to fit college expenses into your monthly budget. Available at hundreds of college campuses, Sallie Mae administers tuition payment plans that let families spread tuition payments over a number of months instead of making a large lump-sum payment at the beginning of each semester. Visit www.SallieMae.com/tuitionpay for more information.
  • Apply for additional scholarships. While many scholarship deadlines have passed already, some awards have late spring or summer deadlines. Using Sallie Mae’s free online Scholarship Search, students and parents can quickly identify scholarships still available for the upcoming school year, including 25,000 scholarships worth $77 million with deadlines between now and the end of summer. The scholarship search is available at www.SallieMae.com/scholarships.
  • Earn extra money for college through Upromise by Sallie Mae. Upromise members can receive cash back when they make eligible purchases from hundreds of participating companies or use their Upromise credit card. Upromise members have earned $600 million in member rewards since 2001. Rewards accumulate in a member’s Upromise account and can be transferred periodically into an eligible 529 college savings plan or used to pay down eligible Sallie Mae-serviced student loans. Beginning April 3 through June 5, Upromise members have the opportunity to earn extra rewards—of 10 percent or more—from one major online retailer each week, including Apple Store, Staples, Barnes & Noble and Sears. Visit www.Upromise.com for more information.

 

Join Upromise 728x90

You may remember my post about how to use UPromise – I absolutely love it. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly encourage you to do so. UPromise in conjunction with Sallie Mae’s programs can really make a difference when it comes to college finances.  There are always some great deals going on at UPromise – like right now through the end of April, you can get 10% back at JC Penny, and 10% in rewards at Staples.com!

As those college acceptance letters start arriving (usually about this time), it is a good time to ask the question, “Are you ready to Test Your Financial Aid Package IQ?”

The kind folks at Sallie Mae are letting me host a giveaway!


One winner received two gifts cards: $10 Overstock.com and $10 Petsmart gift cards!


No purchase necessary. Open to residents of US.  ONE ENTRANT PER HOUSEHOLD/IP Address! Giveaway ends May 12th at 9:00 p.m. (PST).  I check all entries – cheating will not be tolerated.  Winner will be notified via email and needs to reply within 48 hours, or a new winner will be chosen. Please make sure you check your spam folder – I will not be responsible if you did not receive winning email notification. Winners name(s) will also be posted on Winners List immediately after drawing has occurred. Winners will be chosen using the “And the Winner is” plugin.  Screenshots of winners available by request.  **By entering this giveaway, you confirm that you have read and agree to my giveaway rules. Please allow 6-8 weeks for deliver of prize {though it is usually much sooner}.

Please see Eighty MPH Mom giveaway rules for further information.

 

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

288 Responses

  1. Unfortunately, we don’t have the extra funds to save for college. We are doing our darndest to instill good study habits and the value of an education in hopes that our children can earn scholarships. So far, so good.
    ljatwood at gmail dot com

  2. Oldest child is in college. Saving for the others with a college savings account

  11. Right now my husband and I are in college. With 3 kids the best way we can save money is to trade babysitting with someone instead of sending them to daycare.

  14. My son chose not to go to college. He would have had to start with junior college as I did. But he didn’t care to go. I only took a few classes after junior college but have my nursing degree and license.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  56. My kids have savings accounts that I try to put money into. they also have savings bonds that they received as a gift from their grandparents.

    Thanks!

  71. I don’t have a child, however I did attempt college (I’m actually still trying), and when I was able to work, every paycheck I received I would take a portion and put it toward going to school that fall 🙂

    It was such a satisfying experience!

    Thank you for a great giveaway 🙂

  75. We put money regularly into a 529 savings plan. We also contribute any monetary gifts that family send for our daughter into the 529.
    jtmagmom73(at)gmail(dot)com

  81. I follow through Networked Blogs under username Jennie Tilson.
    jtmagmom73(at)gmail(dot)com

  84. At this time we don’t have any extra money to start saving for our daughters collage

    appetizerforacraftymind(at)yahoo(dot)com

  94. At my daughters school they have a banking day at school every other week so I send her with around $5 to add to that and she will hopefully be able to continue on with that through high school (she is currently in kindergarten) also I save all change and its funny because if she finds a penny on the ground she will say this is going to send me to college one day! Lol I didnt have the chance given to me to go to college and I want to insure she has a succesful future and not be stuck at the bottom.

  103. We started mutual funds when our children were born and we add to them every month.

  107. We are saving for our children’s college with 529 accounts and CD’s.

  112. i’m pregnant, no child yet, but it’s a good idea. and yes i did go to college. I wish MY parents would have saved for my college, because I had to pay for it all myself!

  120. I went to college because my parents are the best and made sure I was able to 🙂

  121. Right now it’s impossible to save anything for anything, but I want to start eventually.
    lazybones344 at gmail dot com

  122. No children but when I went to college I paid for about half while I was working and my employer paid the other half.

  133. I don’t have a child and I’m still going to college!
    -lauren chan
    lil_bunnie_goez_mewatyahoodotcom

  135. I saved for my kids’ college by buying savings bonds every payday. They were able to go without student loans.

  151. I have a college savings account for my daughter. Got it when she was one month old.

  153. I went to college on my company’s tuition reimbursement program. It’s a company benefit that really helped me out!

  158. I started putting money into a savings account for my daughter’s college fund when she was born. She’s now 17 and applying for scholarships to help!

  159. I’m a GFC follower (sksweeps) and I LOVE your new car on your header (loved the old one too)

  160. With two kids in college now and one junior in high school it was impossible to save enough for college,so I am working two jobs to pay for all the college expenses now.
    carolkfoster at comcast dot net

  162. I don’t have kids, but I went to college and to grad school. I think I’ll be paying off those loans for the rest of my life, unless I can land a decent job in my field in the next decade. :-/

  163. I’m in college now. I’m glad there are programs like upromise for the future generations in my family

    mcirish02 at hotmail dot com

  169. ever since my children were born we started a savings account for each of them we add money to it every week (chucosbabygirl(at)yahoo(dot)com)

  184. I have kind of a unique one..in addition to a regular savings account, my husband and I want to buy seller-financed notes in order to pay for our future kids’ college!
    sarah at realtorsd.com

  188. The money just wasn’t there when our girls went to college. I am so thankful for their hard work to get grants and scholarships.

  191. quit school and got my ged at age 15 started working still doing the same job 27 years later the oinly thing is it doesnt pay what it used to. and there are no jobs in america that i can apply for.other countries have our factories well heck you know that

  192. my dad scrimped & saved so he could send me to an ivy league school. best decision i (and he) ever made!
    kolpin4680 at gmail dot com

  198. my son’s only a year old i’ve been saving but i don’t have much at all..lol

  199. I tried but I was unable to keep a tuition plan for my son so now it is student loans if he goes to college.

  200. We don’t have any children yet, but we do plan on saving for college. My husband was able to go to college because his parents saved for him, but I was only able to go because I received scholarships, which limited where I attended (even though I was accepted to all of my schools). I want my children to go to any college they want.

  212. I am saving for College by living within my means now. I don’t buy little “extras” at the grocery store (unless it’s a freebie coupon) or shop at the malls just because it’s the weekend. I save up for those type of purchases thru out the year & and shop during the Black Friday Sales! Saving a percentage of each check to pay for college tuition has been beneficial. I also save a couple of bucks to apply towards my holiday shopping.

  214. We were not able to save for our children’s college…..unfortunately.

    wendym at cableone dot net

  215. We started saving money for the kids’ college when they were born! My husband spends a lot of time buying and selling stock for them

  225. I went for a short while.. So far we haven’t been able to afford to save anything.
    My husband paid his own way through college.

  230. My kids gets money for Christmas & birthdays from relatives so that goes into their savings for college.

  237. I have no kids. I did go to college and now hold two Bachelors of Science degrees–one in Computer Science and one in Biological Sciences.

    I’ve been encouraging my nieces and nephews to save up for college and also to keep an eye on various scholarships for help.

    Thanks!
    jaymee76 at gmail dot com

  238. I like Eighty MPH Mom on Facebook (Hudgins)

    jaymee76 at gmail dot com

  239. I follow you on Google Friend Connect. (1 of 2 for this action)

    jaymee76 at gmail dot com

  240. I follow you on Google Friend Connect. (2 of 2 for this action)

    jaymee76 at gmail dot com

  242. all my kids are grown and married but i’ve been saving for my grandaughter

  253. I have 2yrs of college…then I got married and never looked back.
    I hope to return someday an get a degree in Library Sciences.
    Thanks for the giveaway.

  263. We have a certain amount of the hubby’s paycheck going into a college fund for our daughter 🙂

  265. No kids, and college was 40 years ago (math scholarship).
    Thanks for the contest.

  287. Pingback: Sallie Mae Payment Plan Login - Donation Portal
ABOUT AUTHOR
Eighty Mph Mom
Lyric Spencer

I’m all about sharing great products, recipes, home decor, and parenting hacks for busy moms.

Popular Posts
ADVERTISEMENT

Get fresh updates
about my life in your inbox

SUBSCRIBE !
FOLLOW ME ON
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Youtube