You Got to Have Money, To Make Money!

The saying, "You have to have money to make money," is very true about mystery shopping....at least in the beginning. I work for five different mystery shopping companies. Two pay twice a month, one pays once a month, the fourth pays every two weeks and the last one pays weekly(about 30 days after your shop, so you may not get paid each week). Some shops, like the banks, don't cost anything when you visit. The fast food shops can cost me between $5 and $13 each visit. So I pay for my meal and then I get reimbursed and get the FEE for the shop. For some of the nicer restaurants I am out $25 to $40 before I get reimbursed. Some office shops only cost me $1because the company wants a receipt to prove you were there. I usually try to get something right around that $1 price.

When I get paid by the company that pays once a month, at least half of my pay is reimbursement. Now, the nice thing about reimbursement is you don't get taxed for that amount. I like that I can feed us a good meal and get paid to do it, so reimbursement is nice. However, by the middle of the month, I am really wanting that paycheck! Now I like to get paid every two weeks, but for that company I don't work that much. It is a balancing act. Like I said in my last post, not all meals are worth mystery shopping for. I try to choose something that I will like, especially if it is a high end meal. I put it on my credit card and then pay it when I do get reimbursed.

If you do decide to try mystery shopping, start off slow with the meals. Once you get first paycheck or two then you will have the money needed to choose more fast food/restaurant shops if you like!