I do keep track of my hourly which includes reports. Since I don't scan anything that is not a factor. Photos are taken with my phone and automatically uploaded.

People tend to calculate driving time in different ways. My method is the same as when I was working full time, the drive to my first assignment and the drive home from my last don't figure into the mix, just the time between stops. In order to work I would have to drive somewhere anyway and in all likelihood it would be at peak traffic times.

DNinCA Wrote:
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> I just spent 10 minutes reading replies to this
> post and found them all thought provoking . What
> I didn't see is shoppers factoring in an hourly
> rate for the time it takes to write and submitt
> reports, including scanning receipts and uploading
> photos. Or, how about driving time to and from
> shops? Driving time, especially in the Southern
> California area, can be a huge factor and, when
> added to the cost of gas ... well, time is money.
> If a shop requires at least 30 minutes at a
> location, driving time is 15 minutes each way,
> preparation, writing the report and record keeping
> is another 15 minutes we are up to 1.25 hours at
> $10 an hour = $12.50. Shop fee - $12.50 = ?
> Anyway, just one more thing to add to the thought
> provoking mix. Oh, and sometimes it is nice to do
> a bunch of telephone shops while still in my
> pajamas! Just sayin'

I think I easily COULD do $2K or more in my area if I had the time.

However, I work full time so that limits my ability to accept many shops due to drive time, time to perform the shop and the report time.

I love the flexibility of Mystery shopping though and if my full time job ever gets "downsized" it's nice to know I have something to fall back on. In that case, I would take many more shops.

The plan is to get video certified within the next year as well.

Heather

Becoming video certified is one of my goals for 2015, as well.

I too think I will eventually get video certified.

I know we keep talking about whether or not "reimbursements" add to the bottom line, but I think it depends on your lifestyle. For example, my husband and I typically go out to eat one lunch and one dinner a week. Let's say the total cost for this is $100. That's -$100 to my income, though it is not deductible on my taxes. With mystery shopping, I am reimbursed the $100 plus I make say $20. Technically, the $20 is "net income" but my income statement at the end of the month shows +$20 vs. -$100.

There's another "perk". I purchased some chocolates as a gift on a recent shop. Net $8. I took that gift on a recent trip to me and gave it to the airline agent as a thank you AFTER she had checked my ticket. Then lo and behold, when I got to the gate, I had been upgraded to first class. No way would I have used my points to upgrade or have paid to upgrade. Net still $8. Upgrade, priceless

I don't qualify for the amount of income, but I'm working on it. I live in the Hill country area of TX and its a hike everywhere. My reimbursements account for about $200 a month. It took awhile for me to figure out how to maximize the benefits with reimbursement money. The other day I loaded up on butter, which is less expensive at c-stores than the local grocery store.

Reimbursement money does contribute to my bottom line. I'm going to buy staples anyways. I get a huge thrill knowing I didn't pay for car window washer fluid. Spring through Fall I go through a gallon of that stuff a week.

My routes are extremely long, but I have big lapses of time in between shops. After writing up morning reports I stop at stores I'm not shopping and pick up other necessities. This saves gas and time because I don't have to make separate trips.

Please take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I'm still new and every day is a learning experience.

Personally, I think $3000 a month is the more realistc figure for a full time income. We still need to account for the expenses that are not reimbursed.

dspeakes Wrote:
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> I think in order to produce anything useful, the
> $2000 would be to your pocket after expenses, not
> just the sum of fees and reimbursements. I could
> get $2000 a month in fees any time I wanted, but
> it would cost me $1000 in mileage and other
> expenses to get it, so I would not be able to
> "live" on this, at least not very well. $1000 a
> month with a $500 mortgage payment doesn't leave
> much for food, utilities, insurance.
>
> In my entire MS career, I've collected $12000 in
> fees, $4000 in reimbursements, and out of that
> $16000 that passed through my hands, about $8000
> stuck in my pocket and was thus usable for my
> living expenses. This is in somewhat more than 2
> years of part time mystery shopping.
>
> $2000 a month is an income of only $24000, which
> is possible to live on in some parts of the
> country, but it would be a struggle without
> another income in the house in most areas.


For the most part the areas of the country that you can live on for that amount wouldn't have the shops anywhere close enough to be worth doing.

All interesting!! I have learned so much about banking that I am going slightly nuts. Found out the hard way that not all bank sales shops are the same. Have spent the last six hours finishing up a fee shop for personal and business accounts for a bank. I still have one more to go which is going to be late by a day or two. Talked to the scheduler and she said this weekend is fine to get it reported even though it was due Friday. Google is your friend. ACH, Sweeps cash & loans, reversals, varying rates, captures, strong boxes, lock boxes, night drops with and without the locking zippered bags. Oh My. Feel like I fell down the rabbit hole.

2stepps Wrote:
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> For the most part the areas of the country that
> you can live on for that amount wouldn't have the
> shops anywhere close enough to be worth doing.

I don't think that's necessarily true and is probably going to be dependent on an individual's lifestyle along with location. Either having your home paid off or a low mortgage takes care of the biggest expense. Low car payments on a fuel efficient, low maintenance car is another cost savings.

While we have discussed how useful reimbursements save money, I think there are other ways the type of work combined with a flexible schedule can save money. If I was still working 40 hours a week at an office my budget for dining, clothing and commuting would be much higher than it is now. Instead of being stuck either grabbing carry out or something pre-made for dinner I have the time to cook dinner from scratch virtually every evening.

While working full time I usually had to pay someone for chores such as leaf removal. Being able to schedule myself around the weather has saved me $200 this month alone by doing the job myself. Other than actually cutting the grass and trimming trees, I'm able to take care of everything outside myself now.

I have been shopping part-time for 5 years now while I go to school. I have made at least $1200 already working part-time but had to sifn up with many different companies to make that possible. I am at a point where I can pick up high paying shops and make enough money to survive while I am doing my studies. I can see how someone can make at least $2000 and have spoken to other shoppers that make that much. It takes a lot of dedication and love for the job to be successful. It also takes organizational skills, writing, and driving to locations. If you plan a route well with several shops in one day that are all in the same proximal area, then you can make quite a bit of money in this business. I purchased video equipment the PV500 button cam on Ebay so that now I started doing video shops which pays well. If you'd like to talk somemore I would be glad to.

Cat

I live in an apartment. Getting reimbursed for paint simply meant that I had to find someone who wanted a gallon of paint, or else spend a lot of time disposing of it legally. Reimbursements for groceries might count for me, but getting reimbursed $1.25 in a big box hardware store usually means yet another can of spray air freshener or another bottle of soap. Maybe eventually useful to me, but I decline to count it in.

Another key thing to know is the amount that was spent earning the $2000 in a month. In my area, I find that even grouping shops together, I spend 1/3 of the gross pay (NOT including reimbursements) to cover the IRS mileage rate at $0.56 per mile this year. Anyone who says that it only costs the $3 for a gallon of gas and that takes them 30 miles is fooling themselves. I just paid $500 for a new set of tires at Costco today and that was a great price. That is part of the $0.56 per mile that the IRS figures that it costs to drive a car.

Also, don't forget the cost to print reports. The cost for office supplies. There are a lot of deductible expenses. I keep a "dumb phone" just do that I can do smart phone shops which require you to bring a "dumb phone", also known as a "feature phone", along. Deductible expense!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2014 08:27PM by myst4au.

Interview #1:

[www.mysteryshoppermagazine.com]

(heart)

Very interesting interview. I'm looking forward to the next one.

stilllearning, do you know if she spends additional time looking for jobs, other than the 32 to hours she talked about? Or is she at a point that most jobs find her, instead of her having to look for them? It is very interesting to hear about people making full time income at this. Thanks for the article.

Great interview

spaztck Wrote:
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stilllearning, do you know if she spends additional time looking for jobs, other than the 32 to hours she talked about? Or is she at a point that most jobs find her, instead of her having to look for them?

Ms. A's reply:
"Some months, like this one, I don't spend much time proactively looking for work. If my mix of work is video heavy, I don't need much other work to meet my monthly financial goal. Other months I may spend an extra couple hours each week looking for work to fill up my schedule. It all evens out as the numbers I gave were averages. I hope that helps!"

(heart)

Thank you for posting this interview. The financial points were especially helpful, because I do know better and I needed that particular kick on my backside.

What this shopper said and resonates; is don't be afraid to ask. All they can say is no. This was my mantra when i was a travel consultant. I was never afraid to ask.

Im either going to get a rep for being a huge pain and/or the chick who gets it done. Hopefully, both. It was my rep in the travel industry.

It's all about performing your assignments the best you possibly can. It's time for me to take another writing course.