I have done MSing since 2008, but only have done it more than casually since this past spring. I have spent the last few months trying a few different ways to divide up my funds to see what works best. I want to be sure to have enough cash flow to do all the shops I want/need to in coming months, but I need to make a profit also. Right now, this is a good portion of my overall income. So far, the method that has worked best for me is to take half of my reimbursements and put them in an account just for MSing. The fees and other half of the reimbursements go in my regular account for bills (after taking out taxes).

I am curious what methods others use.

I total my expenses, including reimbursements, non-reimbursed required purchases, and amount spent above reimbursements, and pay myself back fully for them. That stays in the MS account and goes towards future MSing expenses. I just roll that forward. Some months, I put out less than the previous month, but I still pay my self back fully for them. I need at least $2000 on hand, even though I typically only use about $700. Never know which projects will come up.

I never use my own money on shops.

I try to do at least 4 dinner shops a month, and the reimbursement from those are separate from the others. I pay myself back half, and the rest, I use for Me things. New handbag, concert tickets, etc.

My fees go into my kids' college funds. So do reimbursed necessary purchases, like gas station and grocery shops. 10% of my fees are set aside for emergencies.

Some shops, I don't put towards their college fund, or reimburse myself for. For example, I use Cori shops for eBay stock-ups. I find great things on eBay that I'll need, like a $300 winter coat for my husband, I found for $40 on eBay in mid-summer. I paid for it with Cori money.

I may be a unique scenario, but with all assignments I complete, (unless an assignment's been rejected) I don't consider money I invested in a shop that's going to be reimbursed as my "own" money, even though the money's coming out of pocket.

Since you stated your majority of your income comes from mystery shopping, have you been closely tracking your fees, reimbursements, payments and mileage (and other related expenses)? In other words, do you know where you currently stand in terms of you profits for 2014 on JUST mystery shopping?

My suggestion is to create a separate checking account and throw in the money you can invest and profited so far. From there, when picking and choosing your shops, try to envision what kind of impact you're taking for commuting. I use the simple IRS rate to estimate how much of a profit / loss a MS route is when I'm scheduling. Let me know if you'd like me to clarify further on this topic.

I believe foreseeing all expenses you need to keep in the back of your head when planning your shops is important, especially if you're relying on mystery shopping as a source of income, as opposed to a means of subsidizing your expenses. Combine this with having a separate bank account (think of it as your "business" account) will help your organization and project planning tremendously.

I don't put my own money out on shops because of the unique situation for which I MS. I don't want to have to track which to pay myself back for, which to throw back into the MS account, which fees go in to the kids' accounts, etc...Keeping it contained keeps it simple for me. My reimbursements go towards future reimbursements, dinner shops buy me nice things, CORI shops buy things at great prices before I'll need them, 10% of my fees go into an emergency fund, the other 90% of fees go to kids' funds.

All my MS money that comes in goes into a certain savings account first, and then gets transferred to a checking account to spend on designated uses. I only use MS money for certain things. the rest of my budget is covered by my "real" jobs and rental income.

Occasionally I figure out how much it "owes" me for the money I fronted that got reimbursed. But since most of what gets reimbursed was something of some use to me (I ate it, or put it in the garage for future use, or put it in my gas tank) I don't obsess about "whose" money it was, mine or my MS business's. It's all properly accounted for for tax reasons, other than that, it's all mine anyway so I spend it however I need to.

My method is fairly simple. When I started MSing a year ago, I opened a business checking account and a second personal checking account (separate from our main checking account). I also opened a VISA account, separate from our main VISA credit card account. By opening separate accounts, I can track all of my spending easily. I use Quicken, rather than a spreadsheet. At the end of each month, I take a "draw" and deposit that amount into my personal account. I pay my VISA bill from the business checking account. I also use the business checking account to pay for office supplies and any other expenses related to the business. From my personal account, I deposit 15% of my earnings into our granddaughter's college fund and another 20% into a savings account. I try to maintain a $2,500 balance in the business checking account and $2,000 in my personal checking account. I pay the VISA bill in full each month. I hope this helps.

Thank you for everyone who has given input so far. I am very conscious of my finances. I am fully self-employed. I have a tutoring business and I also do VA work in addition to MSing so anyway I can find to simplify things is helpful. I do keep a separate account for MS, it is all a matter of deciding once and for all what stays in it and what I can/should draw from it.

I would suggest that you come up with a minimum amount you think you would need for 3 months worth of shopping expenses. You can base this on the expenses you had for the last 3 months for money laid out that will be refunded to you and an estimate of gas, tolls, printer ink, babysitting, taxes and whatever else you spend to mystery shop. Start out with this amount in your account and put all your shopping earnings and reimbursements into the same account. At the end of every month you can draw back down to your 3 month minimum and disperse the difference into your personal accounts for spending and saving. This minimum can be adjusted upwards or downwards if you find it is too much or too little. You have your detailed earnings log to figure out what your mystery shopping profit was at the end of the year.