Online surveys and mystery shopping get a bad rap. Many people think that they are just scams but there are really some great (and legitimate) companies out there that will pay you for your time and effort. And to prove it, here’s what I earned from online surveys and mystery shopping last month, among other endeavors. I completed these mystery shops and surveys in the previous month (or earlier) and received the payment this month.
What am I doing with this extra cash? Almost all of it went to my ING Direct online savings account to save for travel to my sister’s wedding and related expenses. I like having the online savings account because it takes a few days to transfer into and out of the account so I can keep the money separate and make it hard to touch.
And the rest of it? The money that didn’t go to the savings account went toward paying down my Amex credit card balance. Also, I paid myself back for the mystery shopping purchases that I put on my credit card and got reimbursed for.
When I get a gift card as payment, I select a gift card for something I am going to buy anyway (like groceries or gas) and transfer the gift card amount out of that budget envelope and into the savings account.
December 2011
$125.18 from Coyle Hospitality for a mystery shop (mostly reimbursement)
$39.20 from Market Force for mystery shopping
$51.15 from Bestmark for mystery shopping (use referral ID MD5921 to sign up)
$20.33 from miscellaneous product rebates
$5.00 from Magazines.com promotion (no longer available)
$21.50 from WeReward
$10.00 from Opinion Outpost for surveys
$10.00 Safeway Gift Card from Daily Feats
$48.25 from KCL Contributor Network (for selling an article)
$20.00 from Serve.com
The mystery shop earnings include both reimbursements and payment fees, so the total fees earned (excluding reimbursements) was $33.50.
Total earned in December 2010 (excluding reimbursements): $168.58
I post these numbers not to brag but to show that you really can make money this way. If I can do it so can you. Debt freedom here we come!