Los Angeles Herald Examiner
The last time Susan Samtur went grocery shopping, her bill came to $134.44. But this Yonkers, N.Y., housewife and mother of two is no ordinary shopper. By the time she had cashed in the wad of discount coupons she brings with her on every trip to the supermarket, she had whittled her food bill down to $66.44. For Mrs. Samtur, cutting grocery bills is standard fare. 'To think, I never even liked to grocery shop," beams the pint-sized, high-octane Samtur. Until seven years ago when she became a coupon queen, she ignored sales, specials and shopping with forethought. Both she and her husband were schoolteachers. They moved from an apartment into a new house thinking their combined incomes could easily cover the costs. "But every time we turned around we were spending money we hadn't planned on," recalls Samtur. At about that time, a friend introduced her to the system that now saves her thousands of dollars in groceries each year. Samtur calls herself a wheeler-dealer, but unlike other moguls and magnates, she is eager to share the secret of her success. In a book called "Cashing In at the Checkout," (Grosset & Dun lap, 152 pages, $6.95), she clearly lays out a three-part plan that she has honed to a fine art. Cashing in big requires consumers to clip coupons, watch for double days at the grocery store, and diligently mail out refund requests. Coupon collecting is the most familiar aspect of this ingenious, completely legal, scheme. Samtur clips them from the flyers listing sales which she finds just inside supermarket doors, as well as in local newspapers and magazines such as Family Circle and Woman's Day. She watches for double days because they make her coupons worth twice as much. (Supermarkets across the country schedule double days when coupons cashed in double in value). But the biggest payoff comes from refunding, or the art of tracking down and sending away for the refunds offered on specially marked packages of nationally known brands. Samtur mails out some 100 refund requests each month. In return she makes about $1,200 in cash and coupons, "I just love opening my mail and finding dollar bills in the envelopes," she giggles. Her game takes on a whole new dimension because of the refund routine. Collecting the necessary box tops and labels, filling out the necessary return address forms that companies require in exchange for refunds, is a task that soaks up some five hours of Samtur's week. She stores packaging in five large shoe boxes kept in a closet. She fills out forms while talking on the phone, watching TV or sitting poolside at a vacation hotel (her last trip, to Hawaii, was paid for by refunds). "I do get disgusted, soaking off labels from jars, keeping boxes of the stuff," confesses Samtur. "But if I stop for even a month the coupons start dwindling, and that gets me right back into it." She is encouraged, too, by her neighborhood companions, coupon ---------------dle (Box 141, Centuck Station, Yonkers, N.Y., 10710). It is one of several dozen she lists in her book. Each features lists of the current manufacturers' refunds available. There also are ads placed by readers eager to swap coupons they cannot use for others they need. And veteran refunders send in tips on how to be more efficient and organized. Newcomers to the game in need of such advice, sometimes write discouragedly to Samtur. "One sent me good and bad news," she recalls. "The good news was, she saved $15 her first time out. The bad news? It took 2½ hours to get out of the grocery store." Coordinating grocery list, coupons and store specials requires practice. Samtur admits that playing the cash-in game isn't for everyone. "Some people tell me they feel degraded and they don't want their friends to see them." she says. Others, she finds, can't bring themselves to devote five hours a week to refunding. Samtur, who seldom pauses for breath when discussing her system, has advice for both kinds of shoppers. "At least pay attention to the store sale," she pleads (these are the specials and in-house discounts most stores list on a free throw-away near the front door). Rather than buy house brands, Samtur suggests national name brands. They are a must for refunders because only name brand companies offer rebates. Seasonal shopping is another money saver, Samtur finds. She buys as many as 10 turkeys, "Enough for the year," at Thanksgiving when she finds frozen turkeys for 30 percent off their regular price. Candy is on special for Halloween and frankfurters are lower on summer holidays. Beginning bargain hunters must not be deceived by the special displays that just out from the end of grocery store aisles, Samtur warns. Those towers of canned tuna or pitted olives, called "dump displays," tend to be products the store is trying to move. They are easily accessible to encourage impulse buying. Finally, Samtur believes anyone can learn to buy sale items in volume. Along with turkeys, she stocks up on ice cream, coffee and paper goods each time brand names are on sale. She figures they won't be reduced again for about six to eight weeks. To keep her own stored items fresh, Samtur freezes everything, "Even milk and cheese." She may sound like a bargain fanatic, a sweepstakes groupie or game show contestant. Well, she admits that in some sense she is. I live and breathe this," she says of her grocery store wheeling and dealing.
|
