Have you heard of Mystery Shopping? I’d heard of it but never met anyone who did it, and certainly never tried it. For the sake of the blog, I decided to give mystery shopping a try. I don’t like to recommend anything to you without testing it out myself. This was pretty fun!

How it Works

Each company lists their “shops,” and allows sorting by zip code. Some companies let you auto-schedule, meaning you choose the shop you want and do it. Others ask you to click on the shops you’d like, and they email you if you get scheduled. I set a limit for myself of 10 miles, plus I started with stores I would shop anyway. That way, if for any reason I wasn’t paid, I wouldn’t lose much. I’m lucky that there are a lot of shops in my area, maybe because it’s a big city. I’m sure it’s different for those who live in other states/areas.

1. Look at the list of available shops and choose based on the locations and dates. You receive confirmation of your assigned shop(s).
2. Read through the paperwork of questions and observations (for some shops it can be 12 pages!). Since you can’t carry the paperwork with you to the shop (I leave mine on the front seat of my car so I can complete it as soon as I get outside), I prepare a few post-it notes with the details I need to look for and include it with my shopping list.
3. Go to the store/location. Observe environment, cleanliness, customer service, etc. and each shop usually has specific tasks that you need to follow. With my grocery store shop, for example, I had to purchase an item at the deli. Then I completed the paperwork/notes in my car afterward.
4. At home, I would scan in my receipt and report my shop using the company’s online form. The same questions from the paperwork are online, and you just click in your answers. You submit the report along with your scanned receipt, and payment usually occurs in the middle of the following month. For the grocery shops, I was reimbursed for the deli item and also paid a fee for doing the shop. Some companies only offer a fee; read the opportunity carefully.

Where to Sign Up

Since there are tons of mystery shopping companies, I did a little research online, lurked in a Mystery Shopping Forum for a while to see what people were saying about some of the companies out there. Not surprisingly, there are pros and cons to each company. In general, I got the sense that some of the big complainers hadn’t followed their directions and that’s why they were denied payment. I decided to sign up with MarketForce and give it a shot. I did three grocery store shops in January, then waited to see if I got paid in February before reporting back to you. Good news–I was paid! And I was happy enough with the experience that I’m trying it again in February. I also signed up with two more companies to increase the number of available shops this month:

• MarketForce
• Interactions (also called Insights)
• Second-to-None
• Bestmark (this is my referral link, so I will earn a % if you sign up and complete a shop)

My Thoughts

If you’re good at remembering details and being discreet, I think this is a great way to earn a little extra income. I reduced my “hassle” level by giving myself a limit of miles and type of shop. For example, I avoided the fast food shops for two reasons: 1) they’re extremely detailed and you have to time so many different elements (ordering, waiting, cooking, etc.) that I was afraid I’d make too many mistakes; and 2) I don’t want to eat all that fast food. Some people actually make a full-time income doing mystery shopping by driving a lot of miles and scheduling 5-8 shops for multiples companies each day. I couldn’t do all that! I found it easy to squeeze an extra errand in among other daily activities, and I benefited from choosing the same shop three times in one month; once I knew the paperwork I just repeated the same tasks in three different stores. I was paid/reimbursed $55 for three grocery store trips that I would have made anyway, so I was very pleased with the experience.

Have you ever tried Mystery Shopping? We’d love to hear your experience!

Read the rest of the Make Money Monday series.

Original image from 401Kcalculator.org

Blog giveaways? I know, you’re already questioning this one, but bear with me. Over the past six years that I’ve been reading blogs, I can now say that you can actually make money by winning blog giveaways. Here’s what I’ve learned and how I do it:

Why blog giveaways?

You can enter giveaways with major companies like Coke, General Mills, etc., but then you’re competing with thousands upon thousands of others. By focusing on blog giveaways, you have the option of entering with tens or hundreds of entrants. You’re much more likely to win!

Find legitimate places to enter giveaways

I use a couple of blog giveaway linky/roundups each week to identify prizes I’d like to win. I generally go for gift cards, but with the holidays approaching, I’m now entering giveaways for gifts I can give to family members. Here are some of my top spots:

• Giveaways Galore at MoneySavingMom: Since it’s one of the largest linky’s each week, there are a lot to choose from, but it’s tricky to read.
• An Apron Full of Giveaways at MomAdvice: This is also a large collection, but I like the variety.
• Giveaway Directory at Someday Crafts: This has lots of Etsy and other crafty product giveaways.
• Go Graham Go has a huge list of linky’s by day–you’ll see the same giveaways repeated on them, so just pick a few and give it a try.

Decide your limits

I set limits on my time and on what I’m willing to do to enter. I prefer simple entry methods–leave a comment, follow on Twitter, etc. There’s no need to jump through hoops or do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Timewise, I only spend about 10 minutes per week entering giveaways. With the holidays approaching and so many companies doing blog giveaways in the next month, I’ll double that effort. It usually pays off!

How does this “make money?”

There are two ways I make money by winning giveaways. First, I replace part of my budget with the prize–for example, if I win a $50 gas card, I can take $50 out of that month’s budget and put it towards debt payoff (or whatever your current goal/purpose for extra income). This time of year, I’m entering giveaways for toys and other gifts that will offset my holiday shopping budget, freeing up that cash. Second, you can sell prizes to make money. A few years ago, I won a vacuum cleaner, a really nice one. I held onto it for a while, expecting my current vacuum cleaner to quit at some point, but it still hasn’t. After storing the vacuum, still new in the box, in my basement for over three years, I went ahead and sold it on Craigslist for $100.

An extra bonus to winning blog contests is getting some “fun stuff” for my family–like concert tickets, video games, etc.–for FREE. That saves us money because we don’t have to use our entertainment budget for the month, and it’s a nice surprise!

Do you enter blog giveaways? What are your strategies?

Read through the rest of the Make Money Monday series.

Original image from 401Kcalculator.org

Fall is the perfect time to have a yard sale. Moms (like me) are out looking for bargains on seasonal clothing, snow gear, sports equipment, and more. The weather is cooler so you shouldn’t be sitting in the sun all morning, though that’s happened to me before! Just this past Saturday, I participated in our community yard sale to help earn money towards our debt payoff. It worked! I made $220, even after spending $9 on other people’s toys and a couple of donuts for my son. Since I’ve been selling at yard sales for over 10 years, I have some strategies that help me earn more:

To bring in more customers

• Make your sale bigger by including others: Ask neighbors, friends, etc. to sell on the same day and preferably in the same place. You don’t have to go all out and organize a neighborhood sale (but you could). The more families participating, the more customers you’ll reign in.
• Advertise: Use Craigslist–it’s free and it’s how most regular yard sale shoppers will find you. If you have free advertising in local newspapers, use it. Remember to send an email to your groups–church, MOMS Club, preschool, Facebook friends, etc.
• Put up Signs: Grab shoppers as they drive to/from their Saturday activities by posting large, clear signs at major intersections near your sale. Even a bright green arrow will do the trick. I also post in our closest grocery store.
• Have a lot to sell: Many people will drive by, slow down to look, and drive on if you only have a paltry amount sitting out. That’s why you want to include others, and you want to increase your inventory (see below)

To make more money

• Price your items low: Sounds contradictory? It’s not. You’ll sell more by having your items priced at “yard sale prices.” I can’t tell you how many sales I go to where sellers are trying to get 50-75% of original price. Ridiculous! I can get that price with coupons and sales. If your goal is to make money or clear out your house, you’re better off selling for less than not selling at all. It worked for me–almost everything I had was .25, .50 or $1.00.
• Sell everything you can: You’d be amazed at what people buy. I went through my closets and drawers and bagged up smaller items into zipper bags to make them worth selling–free samples I’d received in the mail, used candles (people buy these!), and small toys bulked together. I sold the kids’ tshirts that were well-worn for .25/each, and old clothes from my closet (including worn out mom jeans) for $1-2.
• Get more inventory: I stocked up on freebies during back to school sales (cap erasers, pens) and drugstore sales (toothbrushes, etc.) and sold them all for .25-$1.00. I made $40 just from toiletries I’d gotten free with coupons in the past couple of weeks.
• Display your items nicely: Most people do not want to crouch on the ground and dig through boxes. Borrow tables and display things nicely, even if they’re under $1. If you’re selling clothes, use a clothing rack or at least fold items nicely and lay out on boxes (that’s what I did with my shoes I thought no one would want–and they sold).

Just to be nice (and encourage sales)

• Put out a FREE box: I always have a box with free items at the entrance to my sale. This time around, it had old magazines that we were done with, empty tins and other items I didn’t think were worth .25. I didn’t have a single person pick up free items without also coming through to look at my sale and purchase something. I think it puts people in a good mood and in the shopping spirit.
• Be friendly: Say “Good Morning,” and chat about the weather. I’ve been to sales where I’m greeted and others where the people are complaining about buyers. Why would I shop there? I sold a ton of rubber stamps to a lady on Saturday because we had a nice chat about her new hobby (my old one). I was able to upsell her all the accessories and sell the whole lot at once.

What are your tips for having a successful garage sale?

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You, yes you, can harness the power of the internet. Bwah ha ha! Okay, I’m being silly, but why not take advantage of social media to do some good? Good like getting junk out of your house and into your neighbors’ houses? I’m totally serious.

Instead of setting up a physical yard sale and sitting out in the sun (which we’ll talk about next Monday), you can have a virtual sale right on Facebook by setting up a Neighborhood Facebook Group. This is a great alternative to selling on Craigslist. Here’s how to do it:

Set up a Neighborhood Facebook Group
Make sure neighbors know that the purpose of this page–actually a “Group” on Facebook–is for selling to each other. Some neighborhoods already have FB pages for announcements, asking for referrals, etc. This should be separate. Whoever sets up the Group will be the official “moderator,” which just means keeping an eye out that members are following the directions (see below). Make sure that you make the Privacy Setting either Closed or Secret, so that only Members of the Group can see the posts. If needed, follow this step-by-step on setting up a Facebook Group.

Invite Neighbors to Join
The more Members you have participating, the more potential buyers you’ll have. Depending on the size of your neighborhood, you may want to allow members to also invite close friends or those from neighborhoods close by.

Post Directions for New Members
Keep the structure very simple–members post a photo of the item(s) with a short description and the price. Once an item sells, you delete the post. You can also remove old posts (say 2-4 weeks old) to keep the page from being overloaded with listings.

Post your Items to Sell
This is simple: just take a decent photo of what you’re selling, and add a description and selling price. Those who are interested make a Comment and you figure out how to complete the deal. Our group has posted couches, toys, DVDs, tools, you name it.

Make Money
So far, I’ve only earned $13 from this method, but now that our Group is set up, it’s there and easy to use. It takes just seconds, so it’s worth my time to try. Compared to Craigslist, I also like that it’s so convenient. I’m not waiting for people to drive from wherever, and there hasn’t been any of that back-and-forth email that’s so annoying about Craigslist.

Thank you to the lovely Mary Beth who set this up for our neighborhood (she said this was very successful where she lived previously).

Would a Neighborhood Facebook Group work for you?

Read the rest of the Make Money Monday series.

Original image from 401Kcalculator.org

Welcome to the first Make Money Monday! When you’re trying to earn extra income, the easiest thing is often to sell off items from your home. I went through each room with my family and we found quite a few things we no longer wanted–toys, clothing, old electronics, and more. There are many ways to sell used goods, but I wanted something simple with a good financial return. I chose to start with some video games and poked around online to see what they were worth:

I’d never noticed this before, but Amazon offers a Trade-in program that pays out in Amazon gift cards. Our games were worth a lot more than I’d planned to sell them for! I’d rather take $20 from Amazon than get only $5 selling locally.

Completing the transaction was really easy. I entered in each of four video games we wanted to sell back, and checked off my choice of “Good” or “Acceptable” condition. Amazon gives you a FREE shipping label to print for you to mail the items to them via UPS. The hardest part was finding the right sized box! I looked at UPS.com and found a dropbox just 2 miles from my home, drove over and deposited the package. Within a week, I was emailed confirmation that they received the games and I had a $56.65 Amazon Gift Card applied to my account. It’s not cash, true, but I can work with it. I’ll use that $56 credit to purchase something out of my September budget and put the cash towards the debt instead.

Have you used Amazon Trade-in? If not, what do you have around your house that might bring in some extra money?

riginal image from 401Kcalculator.org