This is a survey company that is new to me but seems to have a very reputable history.   I am jumping on board and trying them out.

You just have to do a few steps to see if you qualify to test the I-pad for 1 month and then it is yours to keep.

First: Click here to sign up with Toluna.  You will need to complete the sign you to be considered.

Second:  Check your email and confirm registration. You must complete your profile and accept to do surveys.

Third: Then click here to see if you qualify to test the I-pad. 

Besure to let me know if you get to test it.  I hope I get picked!!!

Yesterday we talked about how to get organized before approaching the mystery shopping companies, today I want to share with a few that I work with along with how to approach the company with an introduction.

Signing up with a myster shop company:

• Use your mystery shopping email address always that matches with your paypal account.
• Fill out the applications fully.  Try not to leave out any opportunity to express yourself.
• They will mostlikey ask for your social security number.  This is to where they can issue you a 1099 at the end of the year for the money they have paid you.
• Once you have submitted the application, go to you email account and check on a welcome email for the company.  I use this information to fill out my spread sheet on the company.  I also save the email in a folder in my email account for easy referrence. 

Introducing yourself to the companies:

• Always send a seperate email to the company to introduce yourself.  Don’t just rely on the application to get your name known. 
• Use the email address that you got when you recieved the welcome email after signing up with the company.  Usually it goes to someone specific, if not, look on their site for a contact email.  Also, try to address it to a person and not to a generic account.
• Make it short but also showcase your strong points.

Here is an example of a letter that I send to companies.  I just keep it saved in my documents and copy and paste it into the email. I adjust it some according to what I am applying for.

Good morning (afternoon) my name is Anna McMullen and I am very interested in becoming a mystery shopper with your company.  I        feel that I have the qualifications that would serve your organization well.  I am very detailed oriented, reliable, presentable, and understand the need for this service.   I believe that customer service is a key performance indicator for any company selling to or servicing customers.  I believe that reliable information that a company can get from the consumer can help better the company and advance the company to the next level of customer service.

(If you have any mystery shopping experience, tell about your best shop and your worst here)

I am located in Louisville, KY and I am interested in shopping for you within a 50 mile radius of my home.  I travel periodically and would like to contact you when traveling to see if there is opportunities at the destination that I will be traveling or along the way.

I am looking forward to partnering with your company and assisting you with your company’s customer service goals.

Sincerly,

Anna McMullen
(put in your contact info here)

Here are a couple of companies that I work with that I truly believe in and trust.  They also are very good about communication. 

Monterey Mystery Shopping company. 
Click on the new shopper link below the log in. 

Once you get your welcome email, they will send you to a prophet site to register for.  This is the site that you will check for new shops to do. 

___

 DSG Associates. 

I have done insurance shops for this company and they treated me very well.

Sign up under the shopper section by click join.

Tomorrow, I will share more companies with you along with more helpful tips on how to get assignments.

See you tomorrow!

This past week my husband and I have been busy doing Mystery Shopping.  As of yesterday we have earned $154 in mystery shopping and merchandising in the past 7 days.

Today I will be heading to do a mystery shop at a shoe retailer and on Thursday Gregg and I get to eat at the Galt House (very smanzy restaurant in Louisville) for FREE ! 

So, since Gregg and I have been doing this we have had many people ask, how they can get involved and start making a little extra cash through Mystery Shopping.  There is no way in one post I can share with you the ins and outs of Mystery Shopping but I am going to start sharing a little each day with you.

To start you will need to get organized and ready to start communicating with the Mystery Shop companies.   Here is what you need to do:

• Set up a seperate email address just for your mystery shops.  This will make it easier for you to look through quickly at the companies that have shops available.
• Set up a paypal account.  Go here to set it up.   If you already have a paypal account set up, you will need to use the email address that is attached to that paypal account as your mystery shopping account also.   Your email account with the companies need to match your paypal account email.  Some companies still pay with checks but most are going to paying with paypal.
• Set up a binder or an excel file to keep up with your company contacts, shops that you have scheduled and completed.  This is very important because you will need to keep track of your payments.  I am working on a binder for this and it will be available in the near future to be downloaded or snail mailed to anyone that is interested.

If you are interested in the Mystery Shopper Binder, email me at thethriftygeek@live.com and let me know and I will alert you when this is ready.

Tomorrow I will share companies that I feel are legit and easy to work with along with tips on how to approach the companies for work.

See you back here tomorrow!

These deals don’t come by often but when they do they are fun. You will need to hurry and print your certificate because they also don’t last very long.
Test drive a 2011 Sorento and get paid $25 in a prepaid debit card.

Click here to go to the site.

I am so ready for the yard sale season to get here.  I love my two faithful goodwills but I really miss the great finds that you can get at yardsales.  Spring needs to hurry up and come along.  While thinking about yardsales, I realize that I need to get ready for that season of buying.

I am currently working on how I need to get organized.  I am really at a loss right now on how to do it.  I have jotted down some notes of what I need to keep up with and everything but I really don’t have anything in concrete. 

I did run across a book that I have ordered that seems very interesting. 

Click Here! to check it out.  It seems like it has several items in it that I have realized that I need to be doing to get ready for this next season.  I will keep you posted with how my preperation for the season is coming.

Working from home takes a lot of discipline.   You would have to be very organized and also very strict with your work times.  Or atleast that is what I think I would have to do.  I could see myself wasting my time in the kitchen cooking with the food network or taking in a great book instead of getting the job done while everyone else is out of the house.   I know the perks of working at home is that you can do things around the house and also have flexible time, and that is a major plus but you still have to be disciplined to get the job done.  

Here are a few tools that I have ran across that might help you

• Practical Spreedsheets. click here
• Open Office  Click here
• Ht Recorder  Click here   record phone interviews for free.
• Cute PDF  Click here  create PDF for free.  
• Free Conference  Click here   Conference up to 96 people for free.
• My Own Business  Click here

Click here to see the compete list.

Also, if you are looking for ways to work from home, check out my series on idea to work from home. here, here, here & here

As crazy as the weather has been, Work from home Thursday sound even better.  Working from home is a leap of faith for many.  You have the desire to be home but you don’t nessessarily know how you are going to make ends meet.  I totally understand that!  That is why I want to share with you ways that I have found or heard of that is allowing people to work from home.

Here is a way that many of my friends are doing.  Merchandising for companies.  What Merchandising?  Companies will hire people to go into grocery stores, gas startions, WalMarts, etc and either check and make sure their products are being represented well or hire people to place their products on the shelves in these locations. 

Several years ago I worked for a company that the client was Kraft.  I would go into the Bi-Lo grocery stores and reset the displays for the kraft boxed foods.  Each store would take me about 3 hours to do and I would get paid well.   I was talking to the ladies in my small group at church the other night and found out that one of them works for Disney and she checks out the movie theaters to see the Disney movie posters are properly displayed along with any other advertising for the movie. How cool is that?

Here are a couple of companies that I have either worked with in the past or have been in contact with through others and they are great about paying on time and also treats the employee respectfully.

NARMS
WIS International
CrossMark
DDP Holdings

Check the companies out and fill out the applications.   If you haven’t done so, set up a free yahoo, gmail or live emai address to recieve all your “Earn money from home” opportunities such as surveys, mystery shops, and now merchandising.

Good luck!

If you have been having to go out to work each day in this cold weather, you probably had the thought cross your mind, “Boy, I wish I could work from home, or man, if I could only think of way to make money from working at home.”  I am constantly thinking the same thing.  I am not a 9-5 girl like Dolly Parton sang about in her song.  

I am going to talk again this week about ebay.  Ebay has become a second income in our home.  It is amazing what you can sell on ebay and people will buy. Let me share an item that just sold this past week with you.   Evian Water.   yes, water.
I had someone  buy a bottle of water from me for $14.95.  And on top of that, she bought 2.

As you can tell, it is not a regular bottle of Evian water.  It is a Christian Lacroix, 2008 limited edition bottle of water. 

I was at Big Lots and was shopping for things to sell on Ebay and ran across 5 bottles of these.  I thought the bottles were beautiful and get this, they were on $1.  In my mind, I was thinking, that is cheaper than buying a bottled water at the gas station and it is even pretty.  I put all five in my cart and when I got home, I looked them up to see what they were selling for before we opened one to drink.  To my suprise they were selling for $9.99 up to $15.
No drinking these babys!!! We are going to sell them.   I pictured them and put them on Ebay as a Buy it now item.  With in 2 days of listing , two sold for $14.95.   What a profit!!   You can see the completed listing here.

See how easy it is to turn something that cost so little into a BIG profit?  You can do it too.  As I suggested last week, start with items around your house that you don’t use anylonger and is still in good condition.  Find a niche that you enjoy and sell that on ebay.  Become an expert in that niche to where you know what the item will sell for before you even purchase it for resell.

Please don’t hesiate to contact me if you have any questions about ebay and selling items on ebay.  I love helping others get started!!!

Have a great day!  

Working from home is becoming more and more common amoung moms and dads.  Especially as childcare and gas have rose higher and higher each year.  Parents want to be home with their children but still need to bring in an income.  There are several ways that you can make money at home. 

With this day’s topic, I want to share with ways that I have found that works.  The one way that brings in an income for our household is Ebay. 

Ebay is a great way to make an extra income for your home.   I don’t know how true this statement is because I think it is according to the household but I have heard this statement over and over, “Every household has $3000 worth of stuff that they can sell on ebay.”  But I do know that everyone has atleast 2 to 3 items in your home that you no longer use that you can sell on ebay that will help you understand the concept and help you get started. 

Here are a few suggestions of items that you might have laying around the house that you can sell.

• Ol, good condition tupperware.
• Pampered Chef gadgets.  Items that you thought you would us but never have, these sell great on ebay.
• Name brand jeans or clothing.  think twice about the jeans or other clothing that you donate to Goodwill.  Is it name brand to where you can sell it?
• woring electronics
• collectables such as Precious moments, magazines, sports items.
• Giftcards that you won’t use.

Take a look around your house.  If you are not sure, shoot me an email.  I will be happy to help you choose items to list.

Here are a few articles that I have written about getting started with Ebay.

• What do I Sell on Ebay?  click here
• How do I Take Good Pictures For My Item?  Click here
• Extra Money Through Ebay  Click here

Just to share with you a listing that I have on right now that will end this afternoon.  This is a stuffed beany doll called the Mogu People.  I picked this up at a good will for $1.25  look here to see what it is selling for now.  You can figure 10% of fees from the sale will go to Ebay and Paypal.  So I am very pleased with this item.  Click here

Please don’t hesitate to comment on ways you make money through ebay for others to learn and if  help, please email me at thethriftygeek@live.com.

T

Are you wondering where I have been lately?  I have only been posting a few post a week.  I know.  I am running low on steam.  I am taking this week off to gather my post for the new year.  I have so many new ideas, new methods of savings and new challenges that I want to take this week and get them organized to where I can share them with  you.

Be sure to keep this page in your favorites and come back Jan 4th for the start of a NEW YEAR!!!

Hope you had a great Christmas and have a Happy New YEAR! 

Love to all,

Anna