(I am just commenting. I don't need advice.)

I finally decided to make a list of all the MSC payment schedules that I am signed up with so I can have my husband stop asking every other week when I get paid. Good news is, is in the matter of 2 weeks I earned $350. Bad news, is I will see that money between the end of October to the end of December. LOL I knew there was always a huge delay, since I am a veterin, but seeing it on paper next to each shop I did (I wrote down next to each shop when to expect the money), is really disheartening. I think I was better off not thinking about it.

if you work each month then the money
should flow consistently. It's the casual
shopper who only shops every so often
that doesn't have that nice cash flow

Once you reach steady state, the lag really shouldn't matter much at all.

I made a list of companies and payment dates and you'll find it as a sticky under 'mystery shopping companies.'

You ARE better off not thinking about it. Like the others said, if you work steady you'll get steady money.

Once you are shopping steadily, you do not even notice the lag.

I learned pretty quickly to only shop out of shop funds. In the beginning, if I was running low on shop money and had a few shops coming up which required outlay, I did a few shops with quick paying companies in order to raise those funds.

Now, I've built up a shop fund of $2000, by adding some of my shop fees to the shop account some time ago, over time. Things like cell phone shops, a dealership here or there, banks, etc. Now, reimbursements go back into that fund, and I keep the shop fee.

I keep a shop fund of $2000 because sometimes I do a glut of high-outlay shops, like carpet cleaning, designer clothing/bags, etc. Realistically, though, in a normal month-to-month, I only spend about $700 out of that and get reimbursed some time later. With some of my infrequent, high-outlay shop companies taking 2-3 months to pay, having that $2000 set aside really comes in handy.

Some of the faster-paying companies are
-GfK (10-14 days)
Bestmark (21 days)
CORI (7-14 days)
DJC (7-21 days, sometimes as quick as 2-3 days)
Maritz (Twice monthly)
The Brandt Group (7-14 days) [And John is really, really awesome about processing them earlier if you need it]
Marketforce (10th of the following month) [ Do a glut of shops right in the last week of the month in order to see it within two weeks!]

Agree with everyone here. Decide whether you want to be a casual or steady shopper and go from there. I don't notice the waiting period because money is always coming in. When I first started shopping, I noticed it more.

Once I started working a steady shopping schedule, I did not notice the lag so much. At first, however, it's frustrating and seems to take forever to get paid for all of your hard work. Yesterday, I received a check for $486 and three Paypal deposits, totaling $350.00. I was tinkled pink and couldn't wait to tell my husband. I have only been shopping for a year and when I told him that I was mystery shopping, he thought it was a scam and was highly suspicious. Now that I have money coming in on a regular basis, he feels differently.

Yup, what everyone else said. It's hard at first, or if you have stopped for awhile and are starting up again. But, just like any other consultant or independent contractor, it takes time to get paid.

My master excel sheet of assignments includes columns for "pay due date" and "pay received date." I also have a cash flow sheet so that I know exactly what portion of my bank account is mystery shop funds so I don't overspend it. This is a small-time side gig for me, so I don't count it as part of my regular budget. I use it for extra bill payments (paying down debt) and seed money for future shops.

I run a small business online and had to start a business account to receive checks. (I take only Paypal for purchases in my store, but custom jobs locally people have paid with checks). I have my mystery shopping funds put there and use that debit card to shop with and a jar of petty cash for cash only shops. Since I don't do a lot of local jobs it gets the use out of the account and since I am a casual shopper (I work full time and my schedule changes since I work security) I am happy to see a positive balance in it. Working one to five jobs a month this year I have made a profit of $500 shopping.

I wasn't looking for advice, as stated, since I am seasoned, but these comments are good for newbies.

Since I have small kids I take everywhere, my shops are limited, and over the summer months, kid-friendly shops in my area were few and far between. However, now that the holidays are here, and companies are pushing customer loyalty and products, it's high MS-season, and great for me! I think I might have enough money collected by Christmas for presents!

I only made the payment schedule to stop my husband from asking me every other week when I get paid.