I started doing surveys a year and a half ago when my oldest daughter was 3 and my youngest was 1 1/2. I found myself with lots of random bits of time that probably all added up to a full-time job - too much time to do nothing with. I enjoyed being home with my girls but I also needed to add income to our family as my husband's job was downsized.

I ran across a post on Deal Seeking Mom about surveys and signed up for a few and over the next few months I signed up for several more. As my children have grown and as I've found a rhythm in doing the surveys I created a system for myself.

I do the surveys when the girls are having their free play time and after they go to bed/ or nap. If they are watching a video then that's when I log in and get some surveys done because goodness knows I don't need to be totally focused on the 2,000th viewing of The Little Mermaid. If we are having constructive play, I put the computer aside and play with them but there are times we all need a break and that's when I check and see what surveys are available.

This system is working well for me. I cashout $30-50/ month or so. It took some time to get enough surveys going to get this kind of payout and I know I could do more, but at this point I don't have the time. It's a choice and a balance - to make money out of our 'down' time is a phenomenally Cool Idea!

I got a bit of a bday present from a couple of my surveys, too. I had payouts from Toluna and MySurvey for a total of $30. Gotta love when survey cash arrives in the mail, even when it's just a little bit at a time.

I had a lot of surveys to do over the winter break and I got to cashout at Lightspeed, Focusonline, and Opinion Outpost for a total of $40. I also had a survey payout directly to me in the form of a $10 Target gift card. I also cashed out another survey that paid in points for a $10 Target gift card.

And I'm *this close* to being able to cash out at Survey Head. I'm just waiting for some pending surveys to hit my account and then I'll be able to move that amount to my PayPal account. That's one thing I like about Lightspeed, Focusline, and Survey Head. They all have the option to redeem your award in cash through PayPal. Opinion Outpost as a cash option still but if you want to redeem at a lower amount you can get an Amazon e-certificate. Personally, Opinion Outpost usually works so well for me that I redeem at the $5 level with the Amazon e-gift card and it's not like I don't buy books, right;)

So there's the latest on my survey work. I hope it's working out well for you. For me it continues to help fill in around the cracks of my income and it's definitely a Cool Idea!

One of the things I do to help our family budget is mystery shopping. You've heard me talk about this before but not, perhaps, in the context of Stewardship of Time.

In the past several years one thing I have had more of is time. As opposed to money:) Of course, I couldn't do a great deal with it because I always had Comfort and Joy with me but I had time on my hands. Literally. That's when I started trying to find ways that I could work from home while I watched the girls.

Mystery Shopping isn't a great option in this case because I have to have someone else watch the kids unless I find a meal Mystery Shop but that doesn't mean that these shops aren't useful to us.

But now that the girls are in school, remarkably, I actually have less time for the work I'm trying to do so I'm more careful about the mystery shops I take on. In September I took on too many and it was a little crazy. I intentionally backed off for October and I've only been accepting assignments slowly throughout the month.

One great thing about being careful about doing your reports is that companies learn when you are reliable and when they need someone they'll give you a call. I've picked up 3 shops this way in October alone. So, the calendar has changed drastically. At the beginning of the month I had one mystery shop scheduled [dinner for the family at a burger place]. As of now, I've also added:

• 3 grocery store mystery shops
• 2 cosmetic store shops [these are nice because they don't require a purchase!]
• Hardware store shop
• Pizza delivery mystery shop

I also have a long-term shop that is coming to completion by the end of the month. And there's still another week left, too. I might pick up some more. But I'll wait and see if it's something that I really need and make sure that it doesn't take up a huge amount of my time because now that I have less time I want to make sure that I use it carefully and wisely because being a good Steward is definitely a Cool Idea!

Now that Comfort and Joy are in school in the mornings at least I've decided to step up my mystery shopping and this month I have NINE shops already scheduled. Yesterday alone, on the first day of Comfort going to big girl preschool, I had THREE shops! Whew!

Here's the breakdown of what I have lined up:

• one online banking shop [started and on-going]
• one in bank shop [done]
• two preschool shops [done]
• three grocery stores [one tonight, 2 this weekend]
• one 'burger place' [next week]
• one car dealership

One thing that will be interesting for me is that many of these shops are new to me. I've not done any of the car dealer shops in my area so this'll be fun. The online banking shop is new, too, and I'm looking forward to completing it because it is substantially more money. I have done a preschool shop before and these are great. [In fact, I'll post more specifics later about signing up.] But the cool thing is that this month really expands my repertoire of mystery shops and that's not a bad thing since we all need to try new things. New things and more income coming in are both definitely a Cool Idea!

I signed up with Inbox Dollars this time last year and I've steadily seen my earnings increase. I probably get a handful of email a day and I do try to click on most of them so that I can keep my earnings moving along. You can also increase your earnings by buying offers and playing games. You may also get survey invitations that will increase your earnings, too, and this adds a nice bump to your total. Pay out is at $30 and it can take a little while to get to that amount but since I spend time every day in my email already I figure what's another click or two and what's easier than getting paid for reading email!

Remember when I tallied up my survey time and money last month and I reported that I found that Lightspeed was paying in Paypal now but wasn't accepting new applications... well, here you go. Here's a super cool chance to sign up with a survey company that pays in real money.

I'll tell you some other cool things about them. Each invitaton you get from them includes the point value of the survey and how much time it should take you to complete the survey. I've also had surveys from Lightspeed that were screeners for product testing opportunities so really I got a two-fer on those surveys.

I can't think of anything more to say about Lightspeed except that it was one of the first panels signed up with and I've enjoyed these. I don't alway qualify for each survey but you never will. It is great that they pay in cash now so run your little fingers over and sign up while they are accepting new people!! This is an incredibly Cool Idea!!

Mystery shopping isn't a new concept and I've done it a few times over the years but starting last summer I began making a concerted effort to find some companies that I wanted to work for long-term that included stores that I enjoyed. It's been a slow process and I still have a ways to go but I have had some success. 

Right before Thanksgiving I got some of my groceries for free. At Christmas, I got presents for my mom and my mother-in-law at a high end cooking store AND I was paid for my time.  Last month, my family went to a nice steakhouse in town for dinner. This month I have four shops set up already: two restaurant shops, one retail shop and one banking shop. If I'm diligent I might be able to add some more before the month is over, too.

The thing I like about mystery shopping is that it fits in my schedule. It's hard, as a stay at home mom, to find a 'job' that will bring in income that fits in our daily schedule. I need something that I can either do alone in the evenings or with a toddler in the mornings since afternoons are reserved for nap times. Mystery shopping allows me to pick shops that work to the schedule I need since they are self-scheduled and that is definitely a Cool Idea.

Another very Cool Idea is that many will pay via PayPal, although one I have one company that only pays by check. Either way, it's an opportunity for me to add to our income in a way and sometimes we get a nice dinner or an item reimbursed as well.  

If you are interested in learning more about companies that I have worked for, leave me a message in the Comments section. I'd love to pass along Cool Ideas!

January 1st is traditionally the day to make resolutions. What are your resolutions this year? Have you made your list yet? Lose weight? Exercise more? At all? Read more? Write letters - on paper - with a pen? I've tried these and they usually work for me - for a while:) This year I'm going to work on activities that are Cool Ideas that I can revisit through the year. Here it goes.

1. Do a better job with coupons and pantry stockpiling. 
2. Continue to find creative ways to cut expenses
3. Meal planning/ smart planning
4. Increase my income as a stay-at-home parent
5. Find ways to live smarter in the balance between frugality and the environment
6. [not sure yet but I feel like there's something still there to be explored - so I'm leaving room for one more]

So, these are the main areas I'll be working on for myself. I can only hope that the ride will be useful and without too many hazards. There will probably be humor involved. Odds are this could get ridiculous at times. If so, you have my word you'll get all the details.

Sound interesting? I hope so. If not, stick around anyway because these topics won't be the only things you'll see here. Already the coupons are posted. Also, I'll be posting information about great freebies that I hear about, as well as, wonderful deals and information posted on other blogs. I'll do a quick recap and send you to their sites for the full info. No sense in killing bandwidth twice but there is some great stuff out there and I just want to make sure people can find what they want and need.

I hope to find some Cool Ideas we can explore and some Cool Ideas we can share because this is a journey we're on - and we're on it together.