There is such a thing as a free lunch with mystery shopping

I have reached the end of my challenge. I set our last Sunday to feed myself a main meal every day for a week all paid for by the mystery shopping companies. I feel strongly that mystery shopping can aid your lifestyle. It can give you a little bit of freedom and free up the family budget. This week I have -

• Got a main meal for four people on three days
• Got a main meal for two people on four days

And at the end of the week I've managed a main meal every day without having to put my hand in my pocket.

But let me explain what that means. With mystery shopping you do pay for the food that you eat. You act just like any other normal customer. You must not reveal yourself as a mystery shopper, or mystery diner. And in many cases you are not allowed to use discount vouchers either. What happens is that every mystery shop is assigned two payments-

The reimbursement, which is how much they will give you to cover your meal.

The fee, which is what they will pay you to travel and carry out the paperwork.

So you know from the outset what you will be paid for the successful completion of the mystery shop. I use this as the figure to set my budget. Over this week I have broken even, so I made no income but didn't have to pay out for all these meals.

Mystery shopping is a way to get extra meals, get your hands on free things and earn a little extra money. If you are interested in becoming a mystery shopper then my book is a great place to start. It guides you through the process of applying and reveals the secrets of mystery shopping-

What goes into a mystery shop?

This week I have been trying to get my main meal every day paid for from mystery shopping. I have set up a mystery shop every day in a restaurant, bar or pub. I think that there are great benefits to mystery shopping and to prove it can feed me for a week!

But a lot of people ask me what mystery shopping is all about. Let me talk you through today's mystery shop so you can see what it entails-

First I had to read and print all the job notes and the questionnaire - 10 minutes

I had to plan the visit such as travelling there, parking and how long I'd be there - 5 minutes

Travelling to the venue in a nearby town - 10 minutes

I carried out the mystery shop itself with all the requirements that the company gave me - 30  minutes

For this one I had to buy a meal and a drink, ask a question about the meal - is the coffee you use Free-Trade?

This also had a requirement that is becoming more common, which is to take a photo of the meal before I eat it. I guess they are looking 

After the job I had to complete the questionnaire on paper soon after completing the mystery shop - 5 minutes

Then it was on to home to answer the questionnaire online - 10 minutes travel and 20 minutes online

The whole mystery shop from start to finish took around an hour and a half. So you have to weigh this up when thinking about whether mystery shopping will work for you. An hour and a half might be too much out of the day of certain people. It might be a good amount of time to earn a free meal for others.

On to the next meal!

Mystery shopping is a great way to earn some extra money. If you are interested in becoming a mystery shopper then my book will let you know what it is all about and guide you through the application process. Check it out now!