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!