Too Many French Fries!

Between my partner and I, we do a lot of fast food shops as well as some fast casual(as the mystery shopper companies call them) and so we bring a lot of food home. Many of these shops serve french fries as a side item and so we end up with a LOT of french fries. You would think the boys would love to eat them, but even they get tired of them after a while. So, what do we do with all of those french fries?? We could just throw them out, but my partner doesn't like to waste food. Thankfully, she has a friend whose mom has a chicken farm, so we FREEZE all of the french fries and give them to her when we see her. Right now, we have two plastic grocery store bags filled with french fries! I am glad we have an outside freezer to put these in or we wouldn't be able to do this.

I go back to work tomorrow, so we shouldn't have AS much fast food as we have during the summer when I have more time to go to lunch for a mystery shop. I already have some shops lined up for next month though! I need to start saving for Christmas!

Jacob Becomes a Mystery Shopper

One of the companies I work for has some jobs where you need a teenager. Basically, Jacob has to try to purchase something that only a person that is 18 or older can purchase. The teenager has to be between 15 and 17 years of age. He goes into the store ahead of me and then I enter the store and enter the same general area where he is. He finds what he needs to purchase and I watch from a distance. He had been hesitant to work with me on this, because he is easily embarrassed. I finally talked him into trying at least ONE time and told him I would pay him HALF of what I make on the shop, which is $5.50. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for only about five minutes worth of work on his part!

We did the first one the other day and he was nervous. However, as we were discussing our "plan" he said, "this is like we are planning a spy mission!" He is too cute, even at 16. So he went in and the plan went just fine. We have to be sure we don't seem like we are together, so Jacob has to ignore me. Well, that isn't hard!! He took his product up to the check stand and was asked for ID.  He said he didn't have any, and the sales person said he couldn't sell him the the product. Jacob walked off and then I waited and went near the salesperson to get his name and description! Pretty easy, right? Even the input at home is only ten questions and four of those are about the receipt. We met back at the car and on the way home Jacob says, "That was pretty easy, when are we doing another one?"

I found one more shop for us to do yesterday, and we have two more scheduled for the first weekend in September. He did well at the one yesterday, but this time the sales associate SOLD him the product. I was watching from a distance and he was never asked for ID and just bought the product, no questions asked. Well, I walked by and got the associates name and description, then met Jacob at the car. I got the product and the receipt and was able to return it, which is what we are told to do with the shop instructions. I got the money back, but kept the receipt showing the sale. I have to upload that receipt and turn it in to the mystery shopping company. I then came home and did the report, which took all of five minutes.

I am glad that Jacob is taking interest in having a job and making his own money. I think that is important, and maybe when he turns 18 he will decide he wants to do mystery shopping to help pay for things while in college. We shall see!

One Month of Summer Left

With just a month left of summer, I am planning my shops for August. I am trying very hard NOT to over plan. I want to have a few days off so the boys and I can enjoy the last bit of summer. Of course, it is too hot here to be outside for long, but we can always swim. I have a few trips to East Texas for teaching, yea working before school actually starts, and so I am picking up a few shops in the area. I have a few days that I am really booked with shops and other days that I have blocked out as NO SHOP days.

I have decided that I am not going to overwork myself once school gets started. I am going to do some mystery shopping on the weekends, but try to limit it and spend more quality time with the boys. I also like to attend a monthly Tourette support group and haven't gone much this past year. I want to plan on getting back into that.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!

Condiments!

We haven't had to buy ketchup in months, because of mystery shopping. Whenever I do a fast food shop, I ask for ketchup. The server generally throws between two to four packets of ketchup into the bag. I probably only use one of these packets and sometimes I don't use them at all if I am eating in the car. We have a side compartment on one of the refrigerator doors and we keep all of the ketchup there. We also end up with dipping sauces for chicken nuggets or strips. Sometimes we even end up with salad dressing! We keep it all and use it as we go with our meals. I think it is a great way to save some money. My boys LOVE ketchup and it is one less thing for me to buy. Sometimes my partner uses other sauces in one of her recipes. She sees what we have and makes something out of it. One other thing we don't throw away are unused napkins from restaurant/fast food shops. We keep them and use them. We don't end up with as many of these, but again, something else we don't have to buy! Even if you don't mystery shop,  you can save by doing this same thing. Keep those extra condiments for a later day!

It All Adds Up!

There are some mystery shops that you can do right from your own home. These include phone calls and Internet inquiries. Each of these shops pays between three to four dollars. Now you may think that isn't very much, but if you do ten of these shops it could mean $30. I have noticed that these shops seems to go very quickly on the company websites. There are two companies that I work for that have phone shops and only one that has Internet inquiries. I like them, because I don't have to travel and is basically is easy money! Many of the shops that I travel to can pay as little as five dollars so to make money and not have to travel is even better. Now don't get me wrong, the five dollar shops add up too. I would say the average pay for a shop ranges from five to ten dollars. Some restaurant shops just reimburse you for your meal and don't pay a shopper fee. So, why would someone do a shop like that. Well, reimbursement isn't taxed and you get a free meal! Just remember, if you decide to venture into mystery shopping, that small shopper fees can add up quickly and become a large paycheck! Some shops even pay bonusses because they are close to a deadline and need the shop done....those are really nice!

Taking Advantage of Office Supplies on Sale!

Part of being a mystery shopper is that you do a lot of printing. I have blogged about the new laser printer we got and the cost of toner. However, there is another cost to printing and that is PAPER! We go through at least a ream of paper(500 pages) a week and when new shops come out, we can go through two reams of paper in a day!

Last year, we found paper on sale during the summer school supply sales. Office Max, Staples and Office Depot all have some kind of reward program and they are having sales again this year. Last week we each bought two reams of paper that cost $5.99, but then got $5.98 in rewards! That means we really only paid ONE CENT for each ream. Now we do have to wait until our rewards come in come October, but I can do that. I can always buy something at an office supply store. Staples had their paper on sale and you apply for the rebate and again we will end up only paying ONE CENT for each ream. Today I went and got more paper and this time I will get all of my money back in rewards except ONE DOLLAR, so each ream only cost me a dollar. They also put batteries on sale a few times a year. I bought a large pack of batteries for $16.99 and am getting $16.98 back in rewards.

Now, the downside is, you have to pay quite a bit in the beginning and then wait for the rewards. However, it does add up. Last year I got me a nice blue tooth with all of my rewards. I still do some printing on my small ink jet printer for colored sheets for shops or to print things a bit darker than the laser jet, so I can use my rewards for ink! I also keep track of all of my expenses, so I can write them off on my income taxes!

Even if you just do a small amount of printing at home, this is the best time to purchase it and if you get a few reams, it might last you until next year!

Gas Mileage

I just traded in my Hyundai Santa Fe for  a Hyundai Elantra Touring. I loved my Santa Fe, but at 21 MPG on the highway, it was just way too expensive to fuel up. This new car will get 30 to 32 MPG on the highway and 23 MPG in the city. I will probably hit a nice average between those two numbers! Between my teaching job, which requires me to drive and my mystery shopping I can put a LOT of miles on a car. Let's just say, I picked up my car yesterday with 136 miles on it and am over 400 miles today, just two days later!


The Elantra is a bit smaller than the Santa Fe, but not by too much. It seems to be easier to handle and still has a fair amount of space in the hatch. The car is black and looks pretty sleek! When I figure my gas mileage, I will let you know, but I think it will be good!

I have two gas shops tomorrow and plan on fueling up!