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New mother needs extra income, but has no clue where to start

October 13, 2009 01:08AM
My husband and I just found out that I'm pregnant so I'm trying to make some extra money doing some mystery shopping. I'm also trying to convince my husband that I can still command a decent pay check if I quit my job when the baby is born. Mystery shopping sounded like a way I could be with the baby, avoid paying for day care, and still make some money for the family.

I'm totally new to this profession and don't even know where to get started! Any leads or information would be incredibly helpful. There are so many scams out there that I was pretty nervous about giving anyone any of my information. I figured a forum would be a good starting point.

Please let me know if anyone has any pointers for me. I would greatly appreciate them!
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More About Mystery Shopping Taxes
October 13, 2009 01:31AM
Start with the threads marked 'sticky' at the top of the New Mystery Shopper section of the forum. There are, however, things you need to be aware of before you decide to go down this road.

1) Many shops will not allow you to take along small children because they want you focused on the customer service you are receiving and a child can be distracting to doing timings, etc.

2) Shops generally pay in the area of $8-$15, so figure out how many shops you will be needing to do per month to supply a continuing source of income to the family.

3) Depending on where you are located, you may have a lot of competition for jobs so it may be difficult even to land junk jobs (generally $10 and under).

4) Most jobs require you spend some money to be reimbursed. This may be a $1 purchase to get a receipt to prove you were at the right place at the right time or, as a $10 fee job I saw today in my email, you may need to lay out up to $50 for a service very likely to be of no use to you and then wait for a month or more to be reimbursed.

So with this in mind, read on. There are 'legitimate' companies out there that are not scams, but there is an awful lot of below minimum wage work (which you can get away with when you hire Independent Contractors--which is what shoppers are).
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October 13, 2009 02:27AM
Hi farabu and congratulations on your pregnancy! If your first steps in mystery shopping landed you in this forum, you're many steps ahead of the game. As with the rest of the job market, mystery shopping is tough right now, but so are daycare costs. Read, research and best of lucksmiling smiley
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October 14, 2009 08:23AM
wow... im a guy cant imagine being pregnant...

www.jobslinger.com is a great place to start... you have to register but it gives you a rundown of various places looking to shop... and its free...

blessings on you and your family

shopping north west PA and south west ny
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October 14, 2009 12:21PM
Service Intelligence posts for clothing on occasion.
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October 18, 2009 08:47PM
Hi Farabu and congrats on your baby. I have found that doing Demos in supermarkets to be better pay then mystery shopping in stores but you have to be able to stand for 4-6 hours. As Cooldude said Jobslinger.com is a good place to start. Good luck!
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