Back-to-school time! I'm actually looking forward to it. Vacations are a lot harder with two kids that have such a big age difference (sorry, man, but I'm freakin' tired). My little second grader only got about a month and a half off, and soon we will have to start our early morning routines again. He's not excited at all, but I'm like this. 

School prep means we get to go shopping! I love going on the hunt for school supplies. Last year, I took the list quite literally, getting the exact brands that were specified. Well, this year, the Brodster and I will be having a bit of fun.

With back-to-school quickly approaching, I am in major money-saving mode. One way that I have found as a great investment of my time is earning points with Bing Rewards.

By signing up with the program, Bing makes it super easy to earn great rewards, like gift cards and sweepstakes entries. Personally, I usually choose Amazon and Starbucks cards. However, with school supply shopping coming soon, I have added Toys R Us and Macys to my list. Intrigued? Let me tell you how easy it really is! All you have to do is search the web using Bing!  Here's the breakdown:

1. Sign up.
2. For every two searches on Bing, you earn one point (up to 15 points a day).
3. If you use their mobile app, you can earn up to an additional 10 points a day. That brings you to a total of 25 points a day!
4. Most $5 gift cards cost 525 points. So it would only take you 21 days to earn a gift card!
5. Once you reach the gold level, your gift card cost will drop to 475 points, making it even easier to earn cards!

Another bonus is if you refer a friend. Once your buddies reach silver status (meaning redeeming their first reward), you earn 150 points! A win for your bud is a win for you!

Want even more goodness? Sometimes, Bing will send me codes for FREE rewards, like an 8x8 hard cover Shutterfly photobook! This was ideal when I wanted to document Brody's year of first grade and will do the same with 2nd.

So how  exactly does this help save for school? Here are the list of rewards I can use for during the year:

1. School Supplies: Amazon gift card
2. Backpack/School supplies: Toys R Us gift card
3. School Shoes/Clothes: Macys gift card
4. School Memories: Shutterfly photo deal
5. Good Grade Rewards: Gamestop gift card
6. Charity: $1 to Kids in Need, $1 to Teach for America
7. Gifts for teachers: Gilt, Macys, Sephora, Starbucks gift card
8. For my sanity during the school year: Groupon, Starbucks gift card

Check out the full list of rewards here

Ready to earn free rewards? Join here! 
And be sure to let me know what you get with your first reward!

I'm excited to shop! No boring, yellow pencils in this pencil pouch!  I'm probably going to be shopping for my office too (you'll see my own personal wish list tomorrow). Oh, and I think I may have become a little obsessed with erasers. What is it about the perfect eraser that makes me giddy?

Still, I'm going to miss my little rascal. Yes, I've got an 9-month old to keep me busy, but life was so much easier with his big brother around. I'm sure Lou will be missing the Brodster too. We'll just weep together while we get used to the routine again. :)