Before you know it, the holidays will be upon us. If you`re smart, whether you are first considering mystery shopping, or are a seasoned mystery shopper, this year, instead of running up the credit card bills, how about doing your holiday shopping the smart way? By getting paid while doing it!

I am not a big fan of relying on retail mystery shopping as a major source of income. Top-earning mystery shoppers focus on conducting research for companies that fall into the service category such as apartment complexes, home builders, financial service companies, testing centers, car dealers and fitness centers, and do the technology-based shops (audio and video-taped). But since you are likely going to be hitting the malls and your local stores, as well as eating out more as you rush around trying to get everything done once the season is in full swing, you might as well have a game plan in place to get paid for as much of that effort as possible.

For those of you who are new to retaail mystery shopping, you can expect to make $7-$25 for each retail-based assignment you do between actual cash and free merchandise. The more you are asked to do, the more the assignment pays. I suggest that everyone focus on the best-paying retail shops--"purchase and return" shops, where you buy something and then return it anywhere from a half an hour to a day later to report on how both parts of the transaction were handled. So, for example, if you did 10 of these shops, you would make $250 to help stretch the holiday budget. Plus, while you are out and about, you can take on a fast-food or restaurant shop and have that paid for as well.