Things to do as a retiree :-)

I just recently did my first shop which turned out good. The review, or summary, of the shop was intense and long, but for the pay on that shop, it was somewhat expected. Since my retirement from a career job, I've done various jobs as a contractor, and an employee. This mystery shopping has always had my interest, so I've decided to add it to my things to do as a retiree :-) I found your site looking to see how my tax claiming situation might be affected at the end of this current year. I'm still researching that topic. Thanks to whoever started this forum and I look forward to learning from it, and possibly adding knowledge in the future. I hope not to run into too many of the "know it alls" that like to rant and challenge others on forums, instead of just communicating constructively. I did already see a sample of the challenging already, but hope that's not the norm. Hello to All !!!

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Welcome to the forum! I suspect what you are looking for is what you can earn without reducing your Social Security. That information is here [faq.ssa.gov] for 2016. As a mystery shopper you will likely find you make little 'paper profit' if you are claiming your activities as a Schedule C self employed business.

Welcome!

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

Welcome usaborn! You will find some know-it-alls, but for the most part, this is a helpful and useful community. Good luck!

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, maybe, that started a career at a young age and was able to retire on a nice offering at a young age. That being said, I have not been real close to Social Security claiming age since retirement at age 50, so I don't think that will impact me at present but I appreciate the info.. I was more interested in what would generate a 1099, and the different things I would be claiming as expenses. I did see something on the forum about some companies won't issue a 1099 for earned amounts under $600.

Whether they issue 1099s or not you need to claim all income earned. Generally if you are running mystery shopping as a business you are entitled to deduct expenses such as mileage, equipment, supplies etc. even as any other small business. I too retired early and thus the expense of my health insurance (I paid my own) could be allocated to my business. TurboTax always made it very straightforward to claim appropriate expenses.

Generally with mileage, office supplies, etc. most shoppers find that with expenses they don't make much of a profit, and some take a loss overall. That being said, the free meals and perks make it worthwhile all the same. And others manage to work it and make it a good source of income.

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Things to do as a retiree :-)

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