With the doom and gloom in the news headlines becoming a shocking reality for most folks, who doesn’t need some extra cash these days? With everything from the cost of gas to the cost of corn and milk increasing, extra money from mystery shopping can be a lifesaver for many tight household budgets. Here are some tips to help you make more money mystery shopping this summer:
- Try Something New! Don’t fall into the trap of getting stuck in a rut with your mystery shopping. Break out of the mold you’ve put yourself into and try a new kind of shop. You don’t have to do the same old retail or grocery store shop over and over again. If you’ve never done a mystery shop at a car dealership, restaurant or movie theater, why not go for it? You’ll make some extra money and probably have fun doing it!
- Sign Up With Another Provider! If you aren’t shopping as much as you would like to be, there’s no reason to stand for that! There are literally hundreds of mystery shopping providers out there. The only thing standing between you and more shops is yourself. Spend a couple of hours this week applying to shop for a few more providers. If you’re still not happy with the number of shops you are doing, then sign up with a few more providers the following week. Soon enough you’ll be doing the number of shops you want to do and making the kind of money you want or need to make.
- Have A Shopping Vacation! Now don’t just go on vacation to do a shop. But if you are already planning on going to Orlando or Myrtle Beach or Padre Island this summer, search your providers for shops that you can complete in that area while you are away from home. Even if you are just taking the kids up the highway to grandma’s house for the weekend, there are shops in or near almost every city.
Don’t stop there, though. If you are flying, some providers have trouble filling shops for retailers and restaurants located in the airports. So keep an eye out for these. If you are driving to your destination, pick up shops along your route. The trick here is to make sure you can complete the report in the timeframe required, so be sure to bring your laptop with you and be sure your hotel has faxing capabilities if you need to fax off your paperwork.
If you keep track of some of your travel expenses pertaining to that shop, you can even write off a portion of your vacation expenses as travel expenses. Check with your accountant about which items you can actually write off. You may be working while you’re on vacation, but writing off some of your expenses is a great way to save some extra money on a trip you were planning on taking anyway!
Don’t let the news headlines get you down. If you need extra money because rising prices have put you in a tight spot, it’s easy to make even more extra money with mystery shopping!
What are the best sites to find a list of companies? I have signed up for several, but I don’t think I’ve seen “hundreds”.
Thanks,
Pam
Pam, look at volition.com, jobslinger.com, and sassieshop.com. These are the places I used when I started 2 yrs ago. My first place to start was with volition. There is a listing of companies you can apply with. I am registered with over 80 and I do about 20-30 shops a month. I could do more, but I work fulltime also. I am also very picky about the shops I’ll do. Good Luck!
Just a note about travel I try to find gas station shops along the way. With gas costing what it does every penny counts.
I would love to do more mystery shops ! The only ones I ever find are those that only pay about $5-7.00. Also, do you know of any companies who hire mystery shoppers to shop motels ?
Thank you for your site. I have registared with all the companies you have listed. I’m just waited now for the shops. Sincerely, Marla
Marla, if you go to volition.com, their listing actually tells what type of businesses the mystery shopping company does business with. I love bank shops. They pay between $10-25. You may have to open an account, but I found that not to be too much of a hassle. I actually have been able to put away a little “fun” money by having a few different accounts at different banks.
What a good way to put away your money!!
I , too have a small acct. at a bank I shopped.It’s my one connected with Pay Pal
I know where to send it to keep track of the earnings, plus Pay Pal is a faster way to get your $$.
One of the latest shops I did I was required to open an account. I opened a checking and savings account. The bank also gave me $50 in my savings account for opening the new accounts. The shop itself paid $18. So, I made out quite well on this one. Also register with Kern Scheduling, they have a bank client that pays well.
I
SC–thanks for the links!
I am a single parent and I do mystery shopping as a means of taking care of my two girls. I love that I can pretty much set my own schedule and still be able to spend a lot of time with them. I really appreciate all of the advice that I read on here. I have signed up with several companies and usually make a day of it when I work. With the rising gas prices, I have to do it that way to make my income. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would greatly appreciate reading them. Thanks so much and everyone have a great day!
Thanks for the goodies (links) I can’t wait to get hm after work to view them. most Mystery Shopper’s web
site ask you to pay before you get
started.
Thanks again Jacob
You can register at dawnhunt@dawnhuntsdatabase.com She has some great ideas for working at home and mystery shopping opportunities as well as info on scams. It is a contributing database and very useful. Dawn also has a freebies link.