The Times
Give Susan Samtur $3 and a fistful of coupons and she can feed her family for a week and earn an extra $100 a month to boot. Mrs. Samtur, of New York City, is known as the "Coupon Queen." She gave a vivid demonstration of how she earned that title Thursday afternoon at Randall Foods in Northpark shopping center, Davenport. IN FACT, she did a little better than expected. Mrs. Samtur's total bill for 11 bags of groceries including meat, paper products, produce and other grocery items came to $100.74. But as she handed over her coupons, the dollars and cents kept coming off until there was a $1.26 showing with a minus sign next to it. The store owed Mrs. Samtur. When she saw the final figure flash upon the cash register, her face registered a look of surprise "I was afraid this would happen," she said. "I'll have to buy something else." "I miscalculated. The store can't pay out any money on coupons," Mrs. Samtur said as she hustled hack to buy a couple of more items. Those items bought her bill for two bags of groceries to a grand total of $3.01. Mrs. Samtur may be the original coupon-clipper and refund collector. She began clipping coupons 10 years ago and has turned it into a business that keeps her and her husband living on easy street. The couple publishes Refundle Bundle, a monthly newsletter listing coupon and refund deals. In addition, she's appeared on several TV program She'll present shows on how 10 save big bucks with couponing at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. today at Northpark and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at Southpark shopping center. Moline. MRS. SAMTUR a short, perky woman with twinkling eyes and a thick New York accent says all it takes to be a good coupon clipper is a little time, a little planning and a sharp eye. She admits that the average shopper may not be able to buy $100 worth of groceries for $3. "But most people can save about half on their grocery bills and can bring in another $100 a month from refunds by sending in labels, box tops or proof of purchase seals and get several coupons for free
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