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. Some of these mystery shops required me to pay something out of pocket to purchase a good or service (which I get to keep) but I was reimbursed for my purchase and was usually paid an additional fee.

May 2013
Endorse– $9.42
Ibotta– $11.50 (get $10 free when you sign up with Ibotta!)
MarketForce– $34.88
Beyond Hello– $18.72
Intellishop– $15.00
Corporate Research International– $8.36

Total Earned: $97.88

I’m getting back into the swing of things with mystery shopping after taking a couple months off due to moving. I haven’t earned as much as I hoped I would, partly because I haven’t been taking as many assignments and also because there are less assignments available to me because Baton Rouge is a much smaller city than DC. But I have found a few more companies to work with so I will try to expand my options which should be able to allow me to take more jobs.

What did I do with this money?

It went mostly to my online ING Orange savings account to squirrel away for traveling to my sister’s wedding in 2014 in England. Part of it went to cover some over-budget expenses because we went way over budget in May and our utilities bills are increasing due to the heat.

What did you earn last month? Do you have any side hustle ways to make extra cash?