91% off: Coupon Queen works her magic at Allen Park Meijer, shares ways for you to save, too

DETROIT — Few people save money like Susan Samtur.

Nationally known as the Coupon Queen, Samtur estimates that she receives about $2,500 yearly in checks from product manufacturers. Add to that the 50 percent, on average, she saves on groceries using store sales, and discount and free product coupons.

For more than 35 years, Samtur, 65, of Scarsdale, N.Y., has honed her coupon-clipping strategies and says that you can save big, too.

"I think coupon savings is easy, it's rewarding and sometimes I like to call it my coupon therapy," Samtur says.

"When I am shopping, I don't think about anything else but how much money I am going to save."

Samtur, whose latest book, "Supershop Like the Coupon Queen: How to Save 50 percent or More Every Time You Shop" (Berkley, $15), will be out next month, has been featured on talk shows and in national magazines. She also has three Web sites:

www.couponqueen.com

www.refundbundle.com

www.selectcouponprogram.com

And on a recent visit to Michigan, Samtur demonstrated her coupon-savvy ways at a Meijer store in Allen Park.

Armed with a list and her coupon organizer, Samtur bought $134.99 of groceries, paper products and health and beauty aids for $12.12 after coupons and rebates.

An impressive savings that awestruck cashier Paula Davis said, "gave her the chills."

So how did Samtur do it? She came prepared — very prepared.

Samtur says organization is key to her strategy. Her list was organized by aisle and product, including product sizes because many coupons are size-specific. She says shoppers need to be alert in stores and look for sale tags, be brand flexible and keep an eye out for coupons and other offerings.

Seem like a lot? Samtur advises shoppers who feel overwhelmed to work their way up.

"Do as much or a little as you can," says Samtur, a mother of four boys who started using coupons to save money when she and her husband, Steve, were working as teachers.

Start out with items that are more expensive or paper products, Samtur says, which are often on sale and for which coupons are issued a lot.

Over the years, she has seen the coupon culture change.