Andy Hough

Making More Money Mystery Shopping

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In August I decided to cut back on mystery shopping since I had a job. I did end up doing fewer shops in August than usual but it ended up being one of more my profitable months mystery shopping. This is because the mystery shopping companies contacted me and offered me high-paying and/or heavily bonused shops. I had previously been contacted for these shops once in a while but not as often as in August. It seems like my persistence is finally paying off.

I think that getting the workers at the mystery shopping companies on your side is one of the keys to making decent money mystery shopping. When you first start out the companies are unlikely to call you for any assignments. When they do call try to do the shop they are requesting if at all possible. If you can’t do the shop make sure to let them know that although you can’t do that shop you are interested in doing last minute shops if they come up in the future. I suppose it is somewhat like being nice to the dispatcher when you are a taxi driver. They have lots of power to affect your income so you better be nice to them.

That is my mystery shopping tip for today. Hope that all of you that are mystery shopping are able to use it.

Gambling and Frugality

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Gambling is not a frugal activity. Earlier this year my gambling was going pretty well but since then the tables have turned and I have been steadily losing money. I have noted that I am not disclosing my gambling wins and losses on this blog. I have not kept exact track of my gambling but I would guess that I have lost about $300-$400 gambling this year. That is not a big amount but with my small income it is too much. Also it seems a little silly to be trying to save a few dollars with coupons and then blow a $100 in the casino. I am frugal in all areas of my life except gambling. There is a disconnect between my beliefs and actions when it comes to gambling. Gambling was the major contributor to my filing bankruptcy 14 years ago. I am in control of my gambling now but I can still feel that urge to bet more and more. From now on I will be disclosing my gambling wins and losses. Also I will only bet when I think I have favorable odds and until I have a significant increase in income my gambling will be limited.

Running a Marathon and Goals for September

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My progress at losing weight has been nonexistent. Therefore, I have decided to try another tactic for losing weight. I have registered to run a marathon in November. I’ve run four previous marathons before so I know I can do it. That being said with the condition I am now in it will take some work to be able to run a marathon in November. It is actually easier to run a marathon than most people think but only giving myself two months to prepare is going to make it more of a challenge. My goal will just be to finish. My time is usually around 5 hours which is not fast but I still consider it an accomplishment. Weight loss should be a nice side effect of training for the marathon.

I’m also going to register for the February bar this month. Based on what I have seen this process will take quite a few hours. There is a $950 registration fee which I am going to hate paying but I’m hoping it will pay off in the long run. There will also be more expenses after that but since I spent thousands of dollars and four years going to law school it make sense to actually become a lawyer. And I do have some ideas for using my law degree.

Update: I forgot about one of my goals. I’m also making a goal of keeping my monthly spending – other than the bar registration fee – under $1000. I haven’t kept my spending under $1000 for a few months and I need to get my spending back to that level.

Best Cash Back Shopping Sites

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Cash Back shopping sites such as Ebates, Big Crumbs, and Mr. Rebates get paid for sending customers to online merchants. They then share some of that cash with the customers who went through their shopping site to make the purchase. It is a simple process. You log in to the cash back site of your choice and then click through to the online merchant where you want to make a purchase. After you check out you will get a percentage of the purchase price back in your cash back account. These percentages are usually 1% – 7% but they can be even higher.

The cash back shopping sites I prefer are:

Ebates –   They currently offer a $5 sign up bonus and have one of the largest selection of merchants to choose from.

Mr. Rebates – They also offer a $5 sign up bonus.  They have the best cash back percentage for a lot of merchants.

Big Crumbs –  They do not currently offer a bonus but they do have a large amount of merchants to choose from and competitive cash back percentages.  You can also check out the BigCrumbs Deals page for great deals that are added on top of the cash back.

Once you sign up for any of these cash back shopping sites you can earn money for referring new users just like I do. Not only can you save a little money on your online purchases you can make a little money as well.

How to Make Money from Blogging, Medical Trials, and Mystery Shopping

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People often ask me how to make money doing one of these things after I post my monthly income report. I have written posts before about all of these things before although I suppose none of the posts would qualify as a definitive guide. Since there are probably more readers out there who are interested in making money from one or more of these ways I am sharing some resources for more information.

For medical trials try the websites JALR.org (Just Another Lab Rat) and GPGP.net (Guinea Pig, Get Paid). These should provide you with all the information you need to get started and of course you can search this site for my previous posts on the subject as well.

For mystery shopping check out Volition.com. They have a ton of information about mystery shopping although it isn’t always easy to find exactly the information you need. You might also check out MyFrugalMiser.com. This isn’t a “how-to” site but he is successfully making a living as a mystery shopper and you can pick up a few tips.

For blogging there are a ton of resources. I really like the “How to Make Money with a Blog” post at Christian Personal Finance. It provides a nice overview of what is involved in making money with a blog and provides additional resources as well.

If anybody has more resources covering the money making areas above please feel free to share them in the comments.