The Original Coupon Queen

Dear Readers;

As the dust settles all around us from the bomb that has gone off in our economy I poke my head out, look around and decide it’s time to not only dust off my coupons but regroup the faithful $uper $aver community that saved so many millions of dollars 50 cents at a time throughout the 1980′s, 1990′s and early millennium. I feel not unlike the Poltergeist in announcing……”I’M BAAAACK!”

Who is Jan Leasure?

Besides being a consumer and in the same economic boat that is quickly filling up with water like everyone else, I’m in the business of trying to get the most from the money I have left and reporting back to the $uper $aver™ community. I received my Bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University as well as my Master’s. For those of you who remember I have two daughters, both are now chiropractors in Libertyville, IL.

Teaching Leads to Coupon Savvy!

I have been a junior high school English teacher (Jack Benny Jr. High School in Waukegan, IL, a College Instructor for Columbia College in their adjunct faculty in Illinois and Wisconsin; a wife, now divorced, the mother of two grown daughters, a business owner and a syndicated columnist. My late mother, Evelyn, who always reminded me that during the Great Depression she was able to make dinner for her parents and five siblings for 50 cents and have money left over for apple slices has had a great influence on me.

As a young mother and teacher in the late 1970’s my teacher husband and I found that we were plagued by ever-increasing inflation and trifling 3% pay increases (sound eerily familiar?). As we purchased a home, had a baby and inflation continued, vacations and eating out became a thing of the past, I searched for new ways to budget and cut financial corners. Finally in an all out effort to gain control of my economic destiny, I began looking for new ways to save. They appeared slim and none. One day however, I discovered an untapped financial bonanza! I was reading the paper, thumbing through the sale flyers on a lazy Sunday where lo and behold there was an enormous abundance of money saving coupons for some of the more expensive items we were using in our house. Namely, diapers and cleaning products. Now, the truth be told, (I was really young, ok?) as a college graduate and a professional it never occurred to me that it was worth my time to clip coupons. In fact, I would be so bold as to label myself a Coupon Snob! It just didn’t seem possible that taking the time to cut out a trifling coupon would ever be worth my time. (How wrong I was).

At the same time that I was considering using some of the coupons at the store that same  Sunday, I noticed an advertisement at a local grocery store, Parkway Foods, advertising “DOUBLE COUPONS!” If you brought in a manufacturer’s store coupon, purchased the product and presented the coupon, Parkway would give you double the value of the coupon; a 25 cent coupon became worth 50 cents; a 50 cent coupon worth a dollar! I decided to give it a try. Off I went to shop. I used my regular shopping list and added some additional items that I had coupons for as a test to see how much I could save. I went through the checkout, my bill tallied over $100, I handed the checker my stack of coupons, and VOILA! She asked me for $19! On my first try I got more than $80 worth of groceries free.

Even at the time of that first trip people behind me in line were asking me “how did you do that?” To be honest, I wasn’t completely sure, but I was a quick study. When I went home and unpacked the groceries, I started to get a feel for what I had really accomplished; 80% of my purchases were free; I had saved more than $80—more than enough for a free manicure and dinner and a movie! This was my “AHA MOMENT!” I stopped looking at coupons as something only for stay at home moms (not that this was a bad thing), or for people who couldn’t afford to buy something without a coupon, but instead they became Monopoly Money! What child hasn’t wished at some point in time that instead of using those gold $500 bills to buy Park Place or Boardwalk, they could take them down to the local Dairy Queen and load up on Buster Bars? Well I had found a way.

The first year I began using manufacturer’s coupons I saved an estimated $2,000 tax free dollars. That same year I put my advice into a consumer newsletter titled Refunder’s Against Inflation!

Refunders Against Inflation

This was a tabloid newsletter with no advertising that grew to have over 15,000 subscribers annually and boasted members in over 40 states, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as on US Armed forces bases around the globe. Jan’s advice grew from saving money with coupons to adding manufacturer’s refunds as a means of doubling consumer savings. The newsletter then grew to provide advice to bargain hunters all across the country, creating a close knit group of individuals who’s goal was to share their savings tips in an effort to save time and money.

Jan’s Coupon Claim to Fame!

That same year a reporter from the Chicago Sun Times named Gary Wisby got a glimpse of my newsletter and wrote a story about my money saving savvy. The rest is history. I shopped in Houston Texas with NBC anchorman George Caldwell and purchased $170.00 worth of groceries for $11. I shopped in Cleveland, OH with Ann Mulligan, consumer reporter for NBC and purchased $225 worth of groceries for $5. My grocery lists contained everything from diapers to donuts and included such purchases a milk, $10 worth of fresh produce and even a 20 pound turkey.  At the height of her Couponing Career, Jan walked out of a Way-Lo grocery store with $800 worth of groceries and the store paid JAN $75!    Jan appeared on hundreds of radio and talk shows around the country, including Phil Donahue and the Dave Patterson Show!  Check out her YouTube videos for a blast from the past!

Jan’s $uper $aver™ Newspaper Column

My column grew as a direct result of the newsletter and what would become more than a 20 year endeavor of the heart for me was born $uper $aver™ appeared in more than 100 major newspapers around the country, in Canada and in Puerto Rico twice each week. $uper $aver grew to become more than just a coupon column, in the course of 20 years my readers and I, as a team, came up with hundreds of new ways to budget and cut corners and live better for less. $uper $aver™ was also an advocate and voice for consumers who had difficulty being heard by manufacturers when they purchased items that didn’t work or were defective. In it’s 20 years of life, $uper $aver™ saved readers more than two million dollars!

Today, with the state of the economy shaky, major corporations and banks facing government bailouts and Americans losing their jobs and foreclosures at a record high, I have been contacted by former readers in numerous states saying, “Hey Jan, get out your coupons—we need your advice!” I am glad to be back fighting the good fight against inflation and unemployment and a consumer’s right and goal to live better for less.

For Those Who Remember

$uper $aver™ appeared in more than 100 newspapers including THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL, THE HOUSTON POST, THE SACRAMENTO BEE, THE CHICAGO SUN TIMES, THE DAILY HERALD (LAKE COUNTY IL), THE WAUKEGAN NEWS SUN, THE PORTLAND OREGONIAN, THE LA ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, THE BUFFALO NY NEWS, THE MIAMI HERALD, THE PHOENIX REPUBLIC and many more. This time around I’m hoping to reach consumers on the internet in front of their computers with money saving news, advice, recipes and a lot of free stuff! I can’t wait to hear from those of you were loyal readers of the column and I encourage you to share your tips to help all of us save. After all, we’re all in this together!

Who is $uper $aver Dawn?

Dawn is always on the lookout for HOT DEALS, on everything from groceries to airfare.  Around here, she does a little bit of everything and always tries to do it with a smile and a sense of humor.  She loves organizing, so stores like the Container Store and Target can be dangerous places!   She is all about maintaing a happy, healthy lifestyle and truly feels that life is not about “wanting more” but learning to be content with what you already have and being your “best self.”  When she isn’t searching for fabulous deals, she can be found reading, traveling, walking/biking, organizing, or baking.  Dawn and her family live in Chicago.

Who is Jade?

Jade Leasure is Jan’s youngest daughter, full-time Chiropractor, part-time blogger!  She shares contests, trivia, recipes and money saving tips with us! She lives in Chicago with her sister, Jordan, also a chiropractor in Chicago-land–they are their own blog.