After reading some admonishments from new or newer shoppers about how we don't consider the total cost of our business, it got me to thinking about how my lifestyle has changed and the expenses that are much lower or non-existent because of my flexible schedule. Some examples.

Clothing - Prior to mystery shopping I often spent thousands on my wardrobe. I'm a blue jean baby so unless an assignment calls for business casual it is jeans or shorts for me. A few classic pieces are sufficient so no more need to constantly replenish with the latest and greatest.

Household - While I still hire a lawn service for grass cutting, in the past I also had no choice but to have someone take care of the weeding and trimming. At times it would be necessary to have a maid service to keep up with housework. And forget about being able to renovate or even paint a room. Now I can take care of all those things myself. Busy weeks might still necessitate more convenience food, but I am able to cook, a lot, and much of it is from scratch. Good for my body, my family, my wallet and my psyche.

Me, myself and I - Working full time often meant standing appointments for mani/pedis and facials or spa treatments. Now I not only do them myself, it is much more fun to sit on my patio drinking a glass of wine during a pedicure Not to mention I can do things like visit the zoo when it less crowded or take advantage of other free times for local attractions only available during limited times.

How about you? What does MS allow you to do that you never thought possible?

Edited to add: Most years I take the majority of August off. Something I never could do when working for someone else. This year includes a big family reunion and celebration. The only boss I needed to approve several weeks was me



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2017 01:54AM by LisaSTL.

I've went all over the spectrum. At first, as a student and manager, I was unable to pay bills with much left over so shopping helped me initially buy a few groceries, get a few meals in, buy knickknacks ,and not stress as bad. Then I realized I was in a premo area and I could just shop. When I was laid off from work, I figured 'oh well' I got this. I made 3-5k a month and that was a lot considering I live in KY where my bills are basically my car payment, phone, insurance, and internet at around $600 a month. After all that, went back to work where I make $1000-$1500 mystery shopping each month but I buy all toiletries, gas, food, kitty supplies, and meals through shopping. I even get free shipping. When I "make" that 1,000 or 1500 a month, I might actually be making $2500 after I factor in all the goodies. It is so beneficial.

My positives from MS'ing are it keeps me productive and busy, good for my mind and still involved in the business world. This supplements my income in terms of food, eating out and cooking in, my grocery bill is lessened 80%. and expenses in the form of oil changes are paid for and add up through the years. Travel and getting paid to stay in a hotel are perks for my lifestyle. I am with younger people, and that in itself keeps me young. Working as a senior while being your own boss is rewarding, and gives me my own life. Learnig from the business as in Medicare made me able to find a great home for my sister. Knowing companies want me strokes my ego, and shows me age is just a #. Being able to work as much or as little as one chooses is a plus. I am glad I found this Industry, it's not perfect, but still, the positives outweigh the negatives.

I used to work 50-60 hours a week, on my feet at a fast pace, with little or no breaks and constantly lifting. This gave me little time for friends/family/significant other. Now that I have discovered Mystery Shopping, I still work 20 hours a week but, when I want to, rarely past 11 AM, and now consider it exercising. Completing just a few shops every day keeps me at the same income level.

Yesterday, I went to the local grocery store, picked up some fried chicken, 2 types of salad, beverages, and a loaf of bread. My lady and I went to the park, had a nice walk, and feed the bread to the ducks. We found a shady spot, threw down a blanket and had a picnic. Total cost +$10.

I was able to raise my husband's four children with him and be that stepmom who was always here to put them on the bus in the morning and be here to greet them when they got off the bus in the afternoon. I was here to help them with their homework and cook meals for them when they were little, and show them how to cook meals when they were older. I didn't have that growing up because my mom had to work two jobs to support us. Mystery shopping allowed me the ability to give them that attention, since a regular career would have required me to adhere to a much different and less flexible schedule. This flexibility allows me to travel on vacations or to visit relatives several times a year now that the kids are all grown-up.

Edited to add that I realize that this was about how mystery shopping saved money, but I felt this was relevant and just as important.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2017 04:47AM by JASFLALMT.

Money, schmoney. Above all, the mini road trips into wide open spaces (en route to shops) make my entire being happy. Long live the wide open spaces! The mileage and other allowable deductions make taxpayer me happy and allow me to go to beloved places. The variety of my assignments has kept lifelong learner me interested in this large industry.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2017 04:57AM by Shop-et-al.

Let's see. I have not paid for an oil change since September 2005. I am free to schedule my work around any physical limitations that I have or might develop, so I both maintain my income and have time to do household work that I might otherwise pay for. I can meet repair and construction folks on weekdays without taking time off, just by organizing my shops to suit my needs. I have made wonderful new friends through the many IMSC conferences. I can avoid rush hour on the roads and weekend crowds when shopping for myself. Instead of an unreimbursed commute I have a tax write-off for every work mile driven. (Note the savings from that lower my taxable income significantly without increasing the miles that I drive unless I go on a long road trip.) I can structure longish road trips to visit friends and family to be at or near 100 percent business miles, making them essentially free. Not only do I not pay for and maintain (add to, update, dry clean, alter) a business suit wardrobe, but I also had a major charity tax write-off when I donated that wardrobe to a charity. A ton of things, like a home computer, that I had to buy with no tax write off when employed, are now fully or partially tax deductible. I earn enough hotel rewards points (nontaxable when converted to a substitute for cash as free nights) to provide many nights of free (no report) hotel stays per year, just for my pleasure, plus a ton of Amtrak points. Since I love train travel, those are particularly valuable to me.

The best thing mystery shopping did for me was to get me out of my comfort zone. I go places I didn't know existed, because of the rural locations i get paid a lot to shop. Just yesterday I was audibly saying "wow" at the beauty of the place I found myself, while simultaneously praying a bear didn't come crashing out of the woods. When those two things coincide, you feel fully alive LOL.
I love the day trips and the mini-routes. I love not being stuck in traffic or on my feet behind a cash register, although I really like customer service, because of the people, you can't beat being your own boss. I take all of January off. Just because I hate ice and cold and because I can.
There is always something new to try. I have never done apartment shops and now I"m going to try them. Why not? I am going to start learning video. I got the equipment and now all I need is a little less chaos in my life. Who starts something like that at 57? Mystery shoppers, that's who.
So while the financial perks of mystery shopping are great, it's the other perks that I love.

JAS, my hope was people would write about the intangibles as well. It kinda got lost when trying to edit down the subject line There have to be a lot of people who have found the flexibility allows them to take care of their families in ways not possible with the standard 8 to 5.

For me, it helped paying the bills, helped for nice meals, allows short day trips when MSing, and provided a form of escapism from my regular job. Let's just say that my regular job is ok but it's not something that I love doing. I'm hanging in there for the health benefits and 401K.

CQ,
Some of us stated doing video shops at a much older age than you are, lol.

Now that I work a 9-5, MSing saves me money by reimbursing me for my weekly lunches, some dinners, gas and my oil changes.

The year that I was out of work, I rarely did reimbursement shops. I focused on apartment and bank shops. From the bank shops, I shopped my bank and found out that I could transfer my money market to a higher interest checking account, which I still have.

From the apartment shops, I found out who did their staging, and I got plenty of decorating ideas on the cheap.

One MS route allowed me to stay in a hotel with a balcony overlooking Lake Superior. My hotel reservations were for a place out in the suburbs of Duluth. After passing through downtown, I thought about it for an hour or so and turned back.

On the same trip I got to see the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. It was actually funny because I was driving across a small bridge over what I would consider a large creek. It was a shocker to see the sign. I got off the road to take some pictures and one is still my laptop screensaver.

So many ways.

For starters, 18 months ago my dad unexpectedly passed away from complications from surgery. My parents had been married 53 years at the time and my mom took it very hard. She's a very introverted person as it is. I was living in another state and renting month to month from a friend of mine. I was able to move home in order to spend time with her. There are not many jobs or even other self employment that would have allowed me to do that.

Over the past 3 years I have shopped in ~35 states. Some of the more interesting things I've done or places I've visited on those routes that I would not have been able to do otherwise:

A weekend in Vegas with no work
Petrified Forest NP
White Sands NM
Drive down CA 1 through Big Sur
Several trips to New Orleans with more sightseeing than work
Multiple visits to friends in the DFW area
A weekend in Burlington, VT with no work
Arcadia NP
Valley Forge NP
A day of sightseeing in Philadelphia
Falling Water and Kentuck Knob
2 weekends in Boston with no work
Several visits to NYC
More visits to South Florida than I can count
Auburn Deusenburg Cord museum (I'm a car nerd)
2 trips driving around the mountains of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky

I'm sure there are tons of others that I just can't remember off the top of my head.

On top of that I accumulated hotel points that I spent on a 5 day trip to London a few weeks ago.

I've had quite a few good meals I probably wouldn't have had otherwise, and stayed in nicer hotels that I might have otherwise as well.

I get to have large periods of time off. The last 2 years I have not worked between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I took a month off this summer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2017 09:59PM by bgriffin.

You have so got me beat.

My very first video road trip had me freaked out and stressed out. Looking back, I could have completed the whole thing in three days and made a boatload of money instead of five days, but I digress.

The first day was a grind driving from home to Kansas City then to Joplin to stay a friend's house. Unbeknownst to me he had come down with the flu, was in no shape to even go to dinner and had the temperature set in his house around 80 degrees while I was struggling to upload videos on uncooperative WiFi. The second day had me mesmerized by the beauty of the mountains in southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. After arriving exhausted in Little Rock I decided to change my focus. The next morning I visited the Clinton Presidential Library before completing only one shop and heading south of Memphis to stay at a casino resort in Tunica, Mississippi. Instead of finishing up my Memphis shops and heading home the following day, I visited the Peabody Hotel to see the duck walk then had lunch at Neely's BBQ before completing a whopping two shops and heading back to the hotel. The last day was a leisurely drive home. At least the room those last two nights at the casino only cost a total of $50 or $60

That sounds fun! Quack, quack. Every month, I pass a casino on the way to my kind of work. I think the place is shopped, but I just don't care about the gambling, the booze service, and whatever else is there. So this is a shop for y'all. It is in a gorgeous (by any standard) place. I want wilderness! If all goes well, we will explore more of a canyon and have a more extensive geography lesson during the upcoming little road trip into the wilderness on the way to assignments. Long live the wide open spaces! Perhaps I can have another wee meal near the roaring river where critters show themselves and delight me... before returning to "civilizaton" and going to work...

@LisaSTL wrote:

lunch at Neely's BBQ

You didn't go to the Rendezvous??

No. It was during the time the Neely's had an extremely popular Food Network show plus The Rendezvous only opens for lunch on Friday and Saturday. I was there on Thursday.

I save money on clothes as I mostly shop on the weekday after work and I wear what I wore to work that day. It's not like a regular part-time job where I would need a uniform or a separate set of clothes.

I've saved money traveling home to visit family/friends by doing transportation shops. I did two shops that covered the purchase of dog food for the rest of the year for my furbaby. I also saved money on purchasing glasses as I did a shop that paid for it completely.

I have become happy without many thing that are aimed at me via marketers. Filling out reports after shops does not take three days, but it does provide a waiting period between looking at a product and buying something. As a shopper, I have looked at all kinds of costly things. Nice things. Useful things. Outrageous things. Luxurious things.

Later, after filling out reports, I always decided that I did not any costly, nice, useful, outrageous, or lovely thing. My life was complete and wonderful without those things.

It is good, somehow, for delayed gratification. When the shop payment arrives, that feels pretty good. And it feels good that there is no additional cost for fuel, insurance, appraisal, or repair.

I was frustrated because I couldn't even afford to go to the movie theater. Now I can because it will be reimbursed and that money can go elsewhere. I'm getting reimbursed for eating out (because I'm not that much of a cook). I get to spoil some people by letting them get things for free (meals, etc...). Just yesterday I found that 2 of the grocery stores I already frequent have shops that pay and have a reimbursement. So while its not a *lot* of money and it means running around a bit, that week's groceries will essentially be free.

And like one person said, quite a few of these shops that are an hour or more away; I love the drive. It can be incredibly relaxing and allow me to just be.

I was able to buy a darling outfit I saw at Macy's today with the $$ I made from MSing.
Naturally it was on sale, blouse (Free People), love that brand for 89.00 regular, bought for 19.99 and jeans costing 49.00, I got for 19.99. Charging saved another 20% off.....I would have bought them anyway, but thought I'd give MSing a pat on the shoulder. I was also asked to model in the fall fashion show, not bad for an old broad....

Irene, are you going to do it? Did you see this story about an 80 year old male model [www.stuff.co.nz]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2017 12:35AM by ChrisCooper.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

Irene, are you going to do it? Did you see this story about an 80 year old male model [www.stuff.co.nz]

I saw the 80yr. old model, where is he when I need him...I have modeled for their INC line as i wear their clothes.
Haven't done it for the past two years, but am ready to give it a whirl. I remember it was fun and they wanted all ages then and still do, it's a fun day and I get to pick the outfits I want. The fall clothes are starting to come in,
I'm not a summer lover, but fall, definitely love the clothes. Remember 80 is the new 40...

I know the back street ways into every mall in my area!

I just saved $300 for a five course meal for two adults, treating a good friend to a nice evening while creating a wonderful memory to share for years to come. The trade off was writing a report which took about an hour of my time.

I broke my back five years ago and lost my job last year because of the days that I just couldn't get in to work. I have found out that a lot of the pain was from stress which I didn't know I was even having from the job. I worked at a cell phone company call center for almost 12 years and it was so stressful that the ambulance came there at least 4 days a week to pick someone up. Mystery shopping has shown me that I can still work and get some really great perks. I still have days that I can't get out of bed but I thank God they are much fewer than a year ago.
I probably spend too much time of the reports but that is the grammar geek in me! I enjoy the chance to still make about half as much as I made working for the phone company but don't have to buy clothes to dress up, buy lunches or spend a fortune buying little Johnny's wrapping paper, magazines or whatever the school/teams are selling all the time. The best part of shopping is that I have time to make jewelry, take master classes, and do craft shows. It was always my dream to open a studio and mystery shopping has shown me all the wrongs that I hopefully won't do when I get my chance. I hope to be able to travel to my niece's house in a few months so she can help me open an Etsy shop. I could never do these while working a 40 hour job.

I thank you all on this forum for giving me tips that I have used to make my shopping more successful. I have discovered how to find better shops and more efficient ways to shop so I can spend more time playing with my hammers and torches.

They actually pay me real money to pretend that I am interested in replacing a refrigerator or stove.