A Day in the Life: Mom, Wife, and Mystery Shopper

Last year when I discovered mystery shopping, I was overworked, overstressed, and over life. In my desperation, I began Googling, posting, searching, and looking for anything to give me options. I knew MLMs weren’t for me and I didn’t want to depend on others for a dependable income. I was looking for something that would allow me to stay at home again with my children and homeschool while having financial freedom and a flexible schedule. While skimming through Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook it appeared to be gimmick after gimmick or the next get-rich-quick scheme. After coming across a reel promoting mystery shopping by Mercedes Eckert, I decided to give it a try. 

After the training, I dove in head first. I worked at my teaching job but on the weekends and breaks, I went crazy doing as many shops as I could. I earned the money back I paid for the training class in two days. I would load my husband and five children into the car and make a day out of it. After my first shop, I was hooked. I loved that there was no cap on my earning potential, I was in control of my schedule and what I was doing. Over the next year, I was able to fund vacations, pay off debt, and buy things for myself. 

One year later, here I am. I now stay at home and homeschool my children. We have built a routine around school, church, and of course mystery shopping. I wake up with a cup of coffee ready next to me on the warmer. I sit in bed skimming through my emails keeping the ones I want to look over again later. After spending some quiet time with myself and the bible, I greet my children who are already beginning to start school without me. As we sit at the table doing school together, I go back through my emails creating routes for the next couple of weeks. By noon, we are done and ready to roll. Today we are doing gas station audits. I have a route of 5 planned at $25 a piece. After doing so many of these, I am able to finish quickly. Now with a full tank of gas, we head to get my car washed for free and to pick up our free groceries. It's getting late so I decide to pick up five fast food shops on the way home so I don’t have to make dinner. After putting my children to bed I sit and finish my reports. 

   The beauty of mystery shopping is that if I want a date night, there is a shop for that. If I need an oil change, there is a shop for that. If I want to take my kids on an outing, there is a shop for that. I know that the only limits I have in life are the ones I put on myself. Great reward does not come without great risk. I started this journey looking for hope but it turned out to be so much more. I gained the freedom to live life on my terms.

 Maggie is a wife of a Marine veteran and the mother of seven children. Five still live at home where she enjoys homeschooling them. Her passions include advancing the kingdom, spending time outdoors, vacationing, and encouraging others to find financial freedom through mystery shopping.