Fall-Friendly Summer 2015 Must-Haves with Splender

August is here and for me, that means hunkering down to finalize fall syllabi, wrap up writing/revisions on current projects, and strategize my late-summer/early fall needs. Even though my daughter isn't yet school-aged, as a professor I still enjoy doing a little "back-to-school" shopping.

On my shopping list:
A dress that works in and out of the classroom, in a season-transitioning fabric
Some workout tees
A few pairs of cropped leggings
A new pair of sneakers (since I rejoined a gym recently)
A new denim jacket (because my old standby is looking a little dingy)

I've written extensively about my desire for deals. I have couponed. I have waited until the sale goes on sale. I have signed up for countless emails from retailers to receive the occasional code (plus daily spam). And I have tried many shopping-focused mobile apps and websites. I love whenever I can earn cash back for purchases so that the price I pay comes down further. For this reason I was excited to discover Splender.

Splender helps online shoppers use coupons, redeem offers, find deals, and earn cash back at their favorite retailers. They feature an alphabetized list of 800+ popular stores to choose from and offer up to 40% cash back on online purchases. It is free to join and very easy to use.

Here is how it works: 

1. Select a store from Splender's 800+ list of retailers
2. Click a deal or offer you want and you’ll be forwarded to that store’s website
3. Complete your purchase as you normally would
4. The store then pays Splender a commission for sending you there to shop
5. Splender shares that money with you in the form of cash back

You can receive your cash via Paypal. They have a $10 minimum for withdrawals and a 45 day waiting period to ensure time to process returns and order cancelations. Money is sent on the last business day of the month and if you don't have the minimum amount in your account, your balance carries over to future months. They do assess a $2.50/month maintenance fee if your account is inactive for more than 24 consecutive months but if you shop regularly, this won't be a problem.

I recently signed up for my own Splender account and found the process to be very straight forward. I chose the option to sign up via email address rather than log in through Facebook. I was able to find many of my favorite stores on Splender, including Nordstrom, Sephora, Loft, Anthropologie, and J. Crew. To earn cash back, you click through the retailer's link.

If coupons or deals are available, Splender compiles them to give you more ways to save. The cash back amounts vary depending on the retailer but to give you an example, during my last visit, Sephora was offering 10% back. Saks was offering 8%.

For my first time using Splender, I placed orders from Loft and Levi's. In the outfit I'm wearing above, my dress and jacket are Splender purchases. The dress is from Loft and the jacket is Levi's. I'm excited to earn cash back shopping for the other items on my list! Thank you, Splender!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.