Get paid to tell a lie: mystery shopping as a Frugal Hack

This post is a new free GRS staff writer Donna. Donna wrote life with a little personal finance column for MSN Money, writes about frugality and deliberate life of survival And up.

Two persistent rumors: mystery shopping

It is not a scam. It-and you can get rich doing it!

Allow me to set up these rumors to rest:

Mystery shopping is not the. (Well, sometimes more information about this later.)You will not get rich, but you can make a little extra, plus get free stuff, you never have to pay to mystery shop info.

My daughter Abby is doing "shops" for a decade, and I'm Done and for six years. We have gotten free washers from hotel rooms, butter, drinking, food, lodging, Casino nights, car rental and molten chocolate cake.

Not that it frou frou-of all things: stores exist for such things as vision examinations, oil, vitamins, pet checkups of bone density test. You can get paid to drink microbrews test-drive sports car, visit the amusement park or shop for groceries.

As a mystery shopper is payable for the eyes and ears of the restaurant, specialty shop, hotel. This means that the legwork. You must fill in multi-page reports (and if you do it wrong, they will not pay you).

But the more stores you can do better get it — and more likely shop suppliers will call and to offer you first pick.

Ever fails to pay for it
Recently I received e-mail messages from two different companies asks mystery shop. Both told me to "register" to my bank account, credit card and social security numbers. Riiiight.

Two legitimate sources are mystery shopping volition.com and industry group called the mystery shopping providers Association. Both are lists of companies offering jobs in regions.

Don't expect to be sent to pricey steakhouse right off the Bat. Will have to take the bottom concerts (fast food, Cafe), to prove itself. In fact, even can do make-believe "sample shop ' to prove you can write in a style they require.

For this style: "waiter was really good" does not mean much. What makes it good? Is it offers you something to drink? It checks the back during your meal to make sure that everything is OK? Is it tell Tofu is made in-house?

A specific list of things to watch for are to be made available to you. Very specific, as in "make glass, are less than half full?"or "do agent for car rental offer satellite radio option?"

You might be asked to follow the script, i.e. they become good liar. For example, my daughter was told to go to the store for feeding of pet to say she had two dogs. At the time, it does not own such as goldfish.

Sometimes you will be sent to areas usually from your League. Once Abby was sent to pricey Chic clothing store and authorized up to $ 30 value of purchase in addition to payment for the store. It can be obtained only two things are keychain or pair of lower $ 27 bikini shorts (honest!).

10 reasons that mystery shopping is frugal hack unemployed or underemployed? Sign up for as many Restaurant shops while Seeking new s〃znavaneto (can).? I've seen vision care shops that restores $ 100. Got kids? Water park them jointly to someone or to another dime. Hotel, stores have pizza mini staycation. The pool, room service (you'll probably need it), the novelty of having a telephone in the bathroom.OK, so I'm easily amused. You can have aging Parents, too?. Look for shops at retirement homes/assisted living facilities. If nothing else, this can give you an idea of where not to MOM and dad Too broke?. Calls that special someone in the car free casino. Living life? Use the retail auto hire, to visit a friend who lives in the city. Go to the store petfood and buy a giant bags of kibble. Hit Club warehouse for six months worth of toilet paper. Want to treat a friend? Remove it for a glass of wine. Need to send money to a relative, gift or repayment of a loan? Watch for shops that pay you can get money orders. Want to get Center? Find one or two parking garage shops. This means that not only the parking, but additional $ 10 or $ 20 to what you want to do. Severe (frugal culture hack, perhaps?)

What's in it for you?
For most of the shops for the Restaurant, the fee is small or even non-existent, you are in total, there are free for lunch. For other payment range is usually $ 10 to $ 35 plus product.

However I am won as much as $ 95 for bank assignment, which takes a few visits. Some stores are bonus, because they are immediately due (another shopper wrapped, leaving vendor in lurch).

Three things, you will need:

A separate e-mail account. Notifications to Pile very quickly. It monitors regularly because popular shops go fast clock. (a) that the time in minutes and seconds a PayPal account. Some companies to recover only electronically.

Does this sound like a lot of work? He is not. how many times you raved to your pals for a great restaurant or crummy one groused about? This time it will be in writing. Is like Yelp, except get paid (or at least fed) to do it.

If you are strapped for cash, but still I love the Mall, then mystery shopping gives you a little money to feed your hobby. The temptation to keep costs may be strong, however, so consider the choice of the missions, which have nothing to do with your weaknesses (sports cars, nickel slots, really cute shoes).

Nobody gets rich. But this is one way, a little money to do things that you may want to do however, such as having lunch, or wandering through the good store. Or marveling the underpants $ 27.

This article is for entrepreneurship, frugality, money hacks

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