Whether you are in your 40s or 50s and dream about retiring early or your plans for retirement have been pushed back due to the economic recession that gripped the nation a few years ago, the fact is that your retirement dreams could indeed become a reality when you put mystery shopping to use. Many people do not consider working in their retirement years because they do not want to conform to a rigid work schedule and give up their freedom or because they don’t want to do menial or unskilled work. The fact is, however, that mystery shopping can provide you with extra income that can be used to supplement other sources of income available to you. This extra income may help you to retire sooner than you have been planning.
A Day in the Life
While you may want to retire early, you may not want to cramp your dreams of what retired life should be like in the process. You may have dreams about waking up and leisurely enjoying a quiet breakfast, sipping coffee on your patio and reading the morning news. You may want to spend more time with your grandkids, enjoy an occasional round of golf or partake in any number of other activities. You do not want to retire only to start working in a different work environment that is too demanding of your life. The fact is that mystery shoppers can control when they work and how much they work. One week, such as when the weather is too bad to go golfing, you may choose to pick up extra mystery shopping assignments. The following week when the weather is nice, you may choose not to work at all. You will not have to answer to anyone when you adjust your schedule. You simply have to select more or less assignments as desired. A typical assignment will take an hour or two of your time, so there is no long-term commitment required at all.
The Income
Before you retire early with mystery shopping, you should consider how much money you can reasonably earn as a mystery shopping. The rate varies based on location, which provider you work with and even by assignment. It is common, however, for a mystery shopper to earn about $15-25 per assignment, and there may be perks or bonuses such as expense reimbursements, travel bonuses and even tax deductions that can make these assignments more lucrative than they may seem at face value. The fact is that you may be able to spend your mornings working on a few mystery shopping assignments at your leisure, and you can have your afternoons free to spend however you choose. Or you can work in the evenings and on weekends and enjoy your days entirely free. Depending on your income needs and the going rate for assignments in your area, you can devise a schedule that works best for you.
The fact is that many people who want to retire are only continuing to work because of the fear that they will not quite have enough money to sustain them through the rest of their life. However, by supplementing your retirement income with mystery shopping income, you may be able to enjoy a far more leisurely life more quickly than you think.