Mystery Shopping Road Trip: Week Six Recap

I have completed all but 42 of the 157 shops on this route.

My week began south of Oklahoma City.  I spent most of the week in Oklahoma, but also visited several towns in Kansas including Wichita and Topeka.  It was all about work last week - since I was heading home Thursday night I focused on making money.  The trip home was eventful.  I arrived at the Kansas City airport early because I was hoping to change to an earlier, non-stop flight.  The airline said I would have to pay $341 so I stuck with my original flight.  After sitting on the tarmac over two hours due to storms, we returned to the airport to refuel.  More than an hour later we took off for Atlanta.  Since I missed my connection, I spent the night in a hotel and arrived home on Friday.

Week Six Gross:  $1312
Week Six Expenses:  $497
Week Six Net Income:  $815

I set a goal of having $879 in weekly net income.  I came close, which is good since this was a short week.

All my expenses are being tracked through four categories:  hotel, food, gas and other.  Last week I spent $21 on food.  Hotel expenses were very reasonable, $247.  I spent $148 on gas and $81 on airport parking.

Sleepless in Wichita

The Oklahoma Plains:  Wind Farms Galore

In about 15 hours I fly home from Kansas City.  It's hard to believe I started this leg of my route in New Orleans less than three weeks ago.  It feels like much more time has passed.  All in all I am enjoying the travel; my only real frustration is with the high cost of hotel rooms.  I was lucky tonight to have a decent room for $41.99.  In Woodward, OK I had to pay $114 plus tax.  That's too much for a place to lay my head.  Blame the oil and gas boom in Oklahoma for the fierce competition for hotel rooms.

Today I have three stops on my way to the Kansas City airport:  Augusta, Emporia and Topeka.  It's one of the easier days of this journey and is a relatively straight shot to my destination.  Once I wrap up, I will have 42 shops remaining in this 157 shop route.  I am getting close to needing new wheels due to the constant tire rotations.  Never realized that having my wheels torqued over 100 times would slowly warp those five holes where the wheels attach to the vehicle.  Eventually the lug nuts won't be able to hold the wheels to my vehicle.  I'm crossing my fingers I make it to the end of this route without having to purchase new wheels.

The last stretch of my route takes me out West to places I've never been.  I'm considering making a few detours along the way to experience the sites.  Within a reasonable drive of my next stops are Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Las Vegas, and the filming locations for my current favorite show, Breaking Bad.  I have time to make these stops, so it's really a matter of deciding to spend a little extra for gas and hotels.  It's hard for me to let go of the job at hand to have a little fun.  My brain is wired to keep grinding whenever I have an opportunity to make money to maximize my earnings; it's hard to tell myself that it's okay to play tourist every now and then.

Mystery Shopping Road Trip: Week Six Kick-Off

This will be a shortened week. I am enjoying this road trip, but I am so excited to be going home this week. Today I start in Duncan, Oklahoma. It's a small town about 75 miles south of Oklahoma City. I continue shopping Oklahoma on Tuesday and part of Wednesday. Wednesday night I am staying in Wichita. Then, after a full day of work on Thursday, I am flying home from Kansas City on Thursday evening.

Friday we are attending Russell Brand's Messiah Complex tour in Tampa. While in town I have I route of gas station audits, but little else in terms of work. The big item on the agenda - the very reason I am boarding a plane - is the 5 day cruise we embark on September 30th. Our itinerary includes stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Mystery Shopping Road Trip: Week Five Recap

I have now completed 99 of the 157 shops on this route, including 20 last week.

Last week I started in Myrtle Beach, moving north through marshlands to North Carolina.  Then I headed west, visiting my brother and his wife in Durham before heading through the Smoky Mountains.  Then I made the very long journey to Oklahoma, where my week begins tomorrow morning.   I enjoyed the opportunity to hang out with my brother since we only see each other once or twice a year.  Also, the drive through the mountains was serene.

Week Four Gross:  $1669
Week Four Expenses:  $1163
Week Four Net Income:  $506

I set a goal of having $879 in weekly net income.  I failed at this, mostly because of my spending on hotels.  Also, there were no shops on Saturday last week.

All my expenses are being tracked through four categories:  hotel, food, gas and other.  Last week I spent $30 on food.  Hotel expenses remained the highest cost, $855.  I spent $278 on gas.