It's Mystery Shopping Monday again! I can't believe how quickly last week went by. Just as an update to my MS progress, I did 5 shops last week, totalling $51.50 for about 1 hour of my time. Not bad at all! I haven't received this money yet, so it's not added to my Free Money, but as soon as it comes in, I'll post about it in my Week In Review.

Speaking of payment, it's been my experience that it takes about 45 days for each company to send my earnings. So, if you need some extra $$, like tomorrow, MS is not the answer; however, it's always a great feeling when the check or payment arrives. I'm incredibly excited because if all goes as planned, MS has already covered my $200/month Extra Income Goal for February!!!

Anyways, on to this week's focus. I've chosen to write about Beyond Hello. Beyond Hello offers very versatile Mystery Shops, and the pay is quite good for your time. They strive on putting together interesting visits for their shoppers, so it's a good idea to check their site often for new job opportunities (actually, it's good to log in to all of your companies once a day to see what may be available to you). Right now they're offering vision shops in my area, so if you are in the market for new glasses or an eye exam, it may be a good idea to see if you are eligible for any of these shops. Why not get paid to do something you were going to do anyways? In addition to prescription vision shops, they also offer sunglass shops, fast food shops, etc. So, the spectrum of opportunities is quite broad.

If you're interested in becoming a Beyond Hello Mystery Shopper, please send me an email (mysteryforshawna at gmail.com), and I'll be happy to send you a referral.

And as always, if you have any specific questions about Mystery Shopping, I'll be happy to help. Please just leave a comment. Happy shopping!

I've decided to start a new feature here at Cent With Love: Mystery Shopping Monday! Each week, I plan to let you know about a different Mystery Shopping company. Mystery Shopping is easy, and it's a great way to make a little extra money if you're out running errands anyways. I've been a Mystery Shopper for about two years now, performing a few shops each year, but now that I'm hoping to use it to pay down some debt, I've been scheduling myself for more shops.

If you don't know anything about being a Mystery Shopper, here's the lowdown. Basically, you are a contractor for a company who has been hired by a specific store/bank/restaurant that wants to know more about how its customers are being treated. You perform a specific scenario (some are very simple, while some can be very detailed) and in return for reporting your experiences, you receive compensation for your time and evaluation. That's it in a nutshell, but I do hope to post a more detailed explanation in the near future. If anyone has any questions at all, I'll be more than happy to answer them for you.

I think the best way to get started in Mystery Shopping is to sign up for a couple different companies (each company seems to focus on a certain area of shopping), and see which shops you like the best. As you add more companies to your list, you will have a more diverse selection of opportunities. Word to the wise: don't sign up for too many at first and don't overbook your time. The companies frown upon those who have to cancel (or worse, don't complete) the shops that they've been assigned.

The first company I would like to focus on is AthPower. I really love doing shops for this company. Not only do they pay when they say they will, but they pay pretty well for the shops that they have you complete. Most of the shops that I have signed up for through them are bank shops. Some are as simple as making a withdrawal or a deposit, while other times you need to open an account or inquire about certain services that bank offers.

If anyone is interested in signing up, please send me an email (mysteryforshawna at gmail dot com), and I will be happy to send you a referral.

Again, I do hope to provide more detailed information about being a Mystery Shopper, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section. I didn't want to miss the first official Mystery Shopping Monday of the year. :)