Nov 9th, 2012 by Jennifer Lynn
This week I qualified for and completed my first focus group. It turned out to be a strange but entertaining experience. This particular group was for lip balm and each day for one week I was given a specific task to complete before bedtime.
For example, during one assignment I was sent on a shopping excursion in order to scout out the lip balm section from a venue of my choice. My mission was to document (with photos) where display setups were from the front door, how aesthetically-pleasing displays were arranged, and then base conclusions on how each brand was propped up/packaged, etc. It was a bit hilarious trying to discreetly zigzag through the aisles in order to document everything on my phone. Clerks tend to look at you a bit oddly for wandering around trying to snap pictures randomly.
The best part: I generously was compensated $150 for my participation!
My first focus group, for lip balm. Also featuring my daughter’s ‘sad doggy’—she drags this damn thing everywhere. (That’s my ‘cutie poo’ tote in the background.)
Which leads us onto … “My Financial Challenge Update“.
As a stay-at-home mommy without a reliable income stream, I made a financial challenge at the start of summer to raise $1,000, somehow. This is how things currently stand:
(All income was made from writing projects, sponsors and focus group participation.)
June – $80.00
July – $57.71
August – $425.80
September – $0 
October – $262.50
November – $150.00
TOTAL: $976.01
SO. CLOSE. Just a hair’s breadth away from my $1,000 milestone. Wheeee doggies!
Broke-Ass Mommy Site Stats
Subscribers –
July 3rd:
2 subscribers (Can I send you something to express my gratitude? A tater tot, perhaps?)
August 8th:
18 subscribers
September 5th:
31 subscribers
October 20th:
73 subscribers
November 9th:
185 broke-ass subscribers, as of this morning.
Alexa Rankings –
July 10th: 3,507,434
July 30th: 1,236,943
August 6th: 906,877
September 5th: 369, 754
October 12th: 261,838
(current) November 9th: 211,222
Page Rank: 2 3!! <— Check your Page Rank, folks. There was an update recently.
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In unrelated news, here are some personal finance reads featuring some of my favorite lady bloggers on the internets. They are all kinds of awesome:
Frugal Portland – My Personal Philosophy at Age 31
NZ Muse – On Unabashedly Saying ‘No’ to Booze
When Life Gives You Lemons…Add Vodka – Why A Courthouse Wedding Is Not For Me
Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses – What Do Our Spending Choices Say About Our Values?
Budgeting in the Fun Stuff – Do You Fit Fun Into Your Life?
Mochi and Macarons – What Does It Mean To Be An Adult?
Little Miss Moneybags – Little Miss Milkbags–Would You Sell Your Breastmilk?
The Dog Ate My Wallet – Growing Your Professional Network
Master the Art of Saving – No Mortgage Payments For A Year—Sign Me Up!
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Broke-Ass Mommy was featured in the following carnivals (a colossal thank-you to each of these hosts):
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at 20s Finances
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
Canadian PF Happy Hour at Canadian Personal Finance
Yakezie Carnival at Parenting and Money
Carnival of MoneyPros at Finance Product Reviews
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Carnival of Retirement at CashNetUSA Credit Resource
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Now, onto the weekend.
Time to get your weekend started.
Have anything you want to accomplish by the end of the weekend?
Do tell.
=^..^=
Cute cats
Sounds like everyone got a good deal – they your opinion, you their money. Have a great weekend Jennifer!
Were taking the kids swimming this weekend as our four year old has been wearing her tinkerbell bathing suit around the house reminding us she's a mermaid now.
Also hope to decide on a new theme, and designer. The free theme isn't working for me anymore.
yay for $150!! You are one sell-your-crap-on-ebay move away from reaching your goal!
you did amazing on the RSS, what's the secret?
by the end of the weekend, I want to have all next week's posts ready…
You are doing great on your goals….and on your rankings~!!!
Have a great weekend~
@V., yes, overall I came away from it with a positive experience and believe it is certainly worth engaging in focus groups you qualify for. (Generally it took an hour out of my evening to complete the daily assigned task.)
@Mandy, your little mermaid sounds too precious! Any ideas where you'll start your theme search?
@Pauline, I have NO IDEA how you do it all. Considering what you are juggling right now, having all your posts ready and lined up before the weekend is over is pretty impressive. You just never cease to amaze me with your boundless endurance!
@Holly, thank you, it is much appreciated.
Thank you very much for the link
I LOVE focus groups! I wish I could do them all the time.
Thanks for the link love, and those kitties are too cute!!!
Wow! Thank you kindly for the link love
Good for you it looks like you are well on your way. keep up the hard work and you will reach all your milestones. So what are you handing out to the other subscribers.. I don't want a tater tot.. you can keep that lol.. Mr.CBB
I love taking pics in store. It helps me remember where things, and prices if needed. $150 is a decent chunk of change.
I did subscribe, so can I get fries instead? Never been a huge fan of the tater tot. Great job on the $150. How does one get to be in a focus group? Where I live it would probably be for farm implements or cowboy boots.
@eemusings, I know, right? I just wish I had discovered focus groups sooner. Thus far I've qualified for two in the past few weeks.
@Mo', thought I'd share some kitties to help bring on the weekend.
@Mochi, anytime, love!
@Mr. CBB, your encouraging words mean so much. I'll try not to feel wounded about you not wanting my tater tot. However I certainly will snag one of your fudge brownies.
@Marissa, before this focus group I never really carried a phone around while taking photos. But with all this practice, I am certainly more smooth at doing it inconspicuously now.
@Kim, you = awesome for subscribing. Sure I'll send over a fry or two. Would you prefer a crinkle cut or some curly fries? As far as focus groups, Focus Forward Online sends out a fair amount of screenings. So far I have qualified for two of their focus groups.
Congrats on the pagerank increase! And so freaking close to 1k! That's amazing!
I always keep my eye out for focus groups, but I never seem to qualify. Is there a specific organization you worked with?
Great stats Jennifer! What's your daughters sad doggy name?
Also, If you can't find a way to make it to $1000 by the next time you do one of these updates. I'm going to hire you to do a guest post for me.
Oooh soooo close! Focus groups are awesome. Over the years I did one on car products and one on sports talk radio. Fun way to past the time and the payout is pretty nice!
Congrats on getting so close to your target, you'll get there easily!
Thanks, guys!
@Glen, we just call her doggy, a "SAD SAD DAWG". It makes her giggle for some reason when we say that, hehe. (I may take you up on that guest post offer!)
[...] Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Busy, Busy With a Focus Group (and a Spattering of Updates) – Read about my recent experiences with a focus group, and my latest [...]
[...] Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Busy, Busy With a Focus Group (and a Spattering of Updates) – Read about my recent experiences with a focus group, and my latest [...]
[...] Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Busy, Busy With a Focus Group (and a Spattering of Updates) – Read about my recent experiences with a focus group, and my latest [...]
[...] Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Busy, Busy With a Focus Group (and a Spattering of Updates) – Read about my recent experiences with a focus group, and my latest [...]
[...] Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Busy, Busy With a Focus Group (and a Spattering of Updates) – Read about my recent experiences with a focus group, and my latest [...]
[...] mommy through various writing projects, participation in focus groups, etc. (I participated in a focus group a few months back for lip balm and found the experience different but enjoyable, and it paid really [...]