Hey guys, I've been a Yelp elite for years and have wondered if there was any way to monetize that skill I've been honing. I used to mystery shop for a short time in another state but I found it was more work than it was worth, photographing a pizza from 6 angles and spending an hour on a report. I found a cheap flight overseas ($500) that I wanted to pay off without credit cards so I started MSing hard. I've paid off the flight and am just doing it as a side hustle/hobby. I just read a quote about how you should have 3 hobbies, one that keeps you healthy, one that makes you money and one that nurtures your creativity. I think MS is a good blend. I took a spin class a few weekends ago as a MS.
Since I've been 'back' to it, I feel like it comes pretty naturally to me. Last month, I made $230 doing a bunch of parking shops. Parking garages, parking lots, valet, and the airport (either riding the shuttle and parking in the economy lot or parking in the short term garage). I think my favorite shops are at the airport inside, because you're captive, you have a layover and you'd usually just sit there and maybe buy a $6 coffee. When I visited my parents in Sept, I think I made about $100, maybe $125 in airport shops there and back, when my flight was about $225, so I like to think of it like finding a really good flight deal, haha. When my boyfriend and I went to Los Angeles in Oct to visit his family, I wasn't so concerned with the pay of the shops (I mean, I'm happy they did pay) but they'll reimburse a day or two of parking each and we ended up parking at the airport for free (I actually came out ahead because I shopped with 3 or maybe 4 companies who all paid 1-2 days for a 5 day trip). He makes more so it's nice when I can find these hacks to contribute more to the household. I recently took on a few gas station audits (report the price of 50 items in the store using an app that records your GPS location) and thought those were mindless enough to be worth the $10 each.
I recently graduated from an online college with an IT degree and it's been really hard job hunting with all the rejection so mystery shopping gives me a sense of purpose (ya know, besides family and my day job) and a feeling that I am actually good at something, at least. Hope to learn a lot from you and share experiences! I tried looking on Reddit for a good mystery shop forum but no dice!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2019 11:18PM by Cassandraj.