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. The amount I earned from mystery shops includes the reimbursement for my purchases.

January 2014
Rebates- $10.00
Blogging/ Ad Revenue- $15.00
Marketforce– $150.98
Shared Insight- $29.52

Total Earned: $205.50

December was busy with travelling to visit family so it was kind of a slow month side hustle-wise.

What did I do with this money?

Most of it went to ward paying medical bills and part went toward refilling our overspent grocery budget. That’s part of the hazards of travelling without having saved funds specifically to cover the gas and food on the trip. Ugh.

Some (but not as much as I would have liked) also went into my online savings account at Capital One 360, which is awesome, free, earns interest, and allows you to make tons of separate accounts for separate savings goals. I am using it to save for traveling to England this summer for my sister’s wedding. That way the money is there but not too accessible since a transfer to my checking account takes a couple of days so it is hard to spend the money before I meet my savings goal.

Did you make any extra money last month? What are your savings goals? Am I the only broke personal finance blogger out there?