I've had months where I only earned about $100 or even less after gas, but the free items are what make up for it for me. I've netted as much as $500 in groceries in a month, which means I can eat a bit healthier (so can the rest of the household), pick up necessities, stock up staples, and maybe toss in some toothpaste, shampoo, and such for free-- yesterday I was able to buy 4 items my parents wanted and pass along to them at no cost knowing I would be reimbursed and they couldn't necessarily afford the items at the time with major medical bills eating their pockets up.
The best month I had was around 70 shops, but they were mostly $5-$9 shops with reimbursements and a few that paid for travel and tolls... I'm not a full time shopper--however-- and I do some online gig stuff as well and have spent well over 40 hours in a week shopping... That being said, if you just shop 40 hours with reports, travel, and all that factored in, you may not actually make so much. It can be time consuming to research, read up on reports, input reports, drive to store, find associates, interact, travel home, get gas and on and on.
I was working 2 part time jobs, attending school, and mystery shopping at one point. Now I'm down to 1 job, part time school at home (online class this term not online schooling as a whole), and mystery shopping. It's a work-life-balance-play ordeal for some, for others its a way of living and pays those bills. Just keep an eye out for the good ole tax man, and if you have a 9-5, keep it for a while to get a feel for how life shopping could be. It's great to bring home an extra $500-$2500 a month, but when you maintain a car, pay out for gas, realize you shopped 108 hours in a week, and you've gained 12 lbs from fast food... eh. Haha. Just play around and find that balance!
This week I did 3 shops. Made a quick (I spent about 5 hours total on this plus gas but it included some car maintenance for free...) $150. That's all I have scheduled and all I plan to schedule until maybe another 5 or 6 days pass so I have me time. Was enough to get me a little extra cash to spend on a new monitor for working, some much needed socks, and a balaclava
I'm usually a $100 a month earner by nature as I pick up reimbursement shops A LOT. And I'm a bit newer to the multiple gigs ordeal as I spent 2 years strictly doing fast food and grocery. Little did I know there was a world of interesting things out there as I've learned over the past 4 or 5 months... heehee Can you say awkward sex toy, bar, strip club, and car dealer shops? $ $ $