A Little Deadline Mystery Shopping

Yesterday I had planned to stay at home and take it easy. Then I got a phone call from a scheduler who said he could make it worth my while to pick up a shop. He offered me $30 for a fast food shop in a town 20 miles from my house. Before hanging up I asked if he needed help with any others. I ended up getting two more shops at $40 each. Then I read an email from another company that had just increased the commission on a restaurant shop (to $26.50) that was in the same area as the other three.

All told, I earned $136.50 for four shops, and I didn't even have to get out of my car to do them. I drove about 120 miles and was gone from the house for a little more than 3 hours.

I don't think I'll return to mystery shopping on a full-time basis because the vast majority of shops do not pay enough in these days of nearly $4 a gallon gas. Besides, as I mentioned before I am thinking about slowing down and living a little. Still, I see myself picking up some work at the end of every month when bonuses are being offered.

Slowing Down... Day Two

Yesterday was an awesome experience with frugal fun. We ran several errands before eating Thai for lunch. I used a coupon to get one meal free; with tax and tip I spent $10.00 for two of us. Then we headed to the Botanical Gardens. My city is blessed with a large, diverse garden that is absolutely free of charge. Even though our gardens are more than twice the size of the one in Atlanta, there is no admission to get in, ever.

Afterwards we headed to the second run $1 theatre. I'd been wanting to see Scream 4 even before it was released, so this was a real treat. I confess to having memorized most of the dialogue from the original Scream when it was released.

In all we spent $12 out of pocket plus about $8 worth of gas. Not bad for a Saturday out. I could get used to this.

Slowing Down... Day One

Yesterday was the first day of my new life - it was the first day where I did nothing at all related to the restaurant. And... it was marvelous.

I didn't exactly sit beneath a tree in a park and read Shakespeare, but the pace was slower than I'm used to nonetheless. I started out the day by visiting one of my rental properties. The tenant had two issues: a bad element in the oven and a defective shower diverter. Had I still worked at the restaurant I would have called a plumber and an appliance repair person, and I probably would have shelled out $200 in labor. Instead, I Googled the nature of the problems, watched a few online videos and read through tutorials on how to fix the problems.

Including running around town looking for the baking element, I spent about three hours on these projects. In the end I fixed them both for nothing more than the cost of the replacement parts.

I also did three mystery shops: one at a home store since I had to go there anyway, another at a clothing store in the same shopping center, and a third at a bookstore. I haven't been inside a bookstore in months, so it was a real treat to get paid to go inside and see what was new.

Day One was a blast. I'm not sure yet what we will do today. It's nice not having a schedule to go by.

Happy Weekend!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

The restaurant is no more. Wow...that was a quick page in my book of life. Moving on, it's time to make some important changes. I've lived here all my life, so I am a little nervous about moving somewhere. But why not? Worst that can happen is I don't like it and decide to move back.

I also feel a twinge of desire to take things slower. I've been working long hours for as long as I can remember. Is it okay to slow down and live a little? My best friend tells me I'm not the type of person who will be content with not pushing myself. He might be wrong, but he might be right.

My partner and I will leave Friday, June 3rd for Tampa. We are driving, and I found a hotel mystery shop halfway down there, so that room will be free. In all we will be gone four nights this first trip. My mission is to look at neighborhoods, talk with locals, and figure out what parts of Clearwater, Tampa or St. Petersburg would be ideal. Beyond the basic criteria of having a safe place to call home, I am looking for a pedestrian-friendly area. I want to walk to the library, grocery store and park. I've not used public transportation much in my life but think proximity to a bus route will come in handy. It's time to park the car, simplify my life, and enjoy the little things.