Former Buffalo Grove man living off Groupon

Entrenched in a lifestyle that is the very definition of suburban, Josh Stevens grew up in Buffalo Grove, graduated from Stevenson High School, got a degree from Illinois State University, landed an accounting job in Schaumburg and, at age 27, was starting to apply to grad schools for his MBA.

As he wakes up Friday morning in Florida, now 28 and homeless, Stevens doesn't have a dime in his pocket.

"I need to catch a bus or a ride," he says as he feverishly scrambles to get back to Buffalo Grove in time for Thanksgiving.

But Stevens says he is having the time of his life, enjoying his odyssey that came from winning a nationwide contest to spend an entire year living off nothing but the deals offered by the online daily coupon company Groupon. Stevens used his "The Groupawn" video, essays and a hands-on challenge to top 20,000 other applicants in the Groupon contest.

"Josh is the one who got a ride on a mail truck, was the most resourceful and took it to the extreme," says Julie Mossler, public relations and consumer marketing manager for Groupon, which is based in Chicago. "We knew we had a winner."

Through this first six months and 22 states, Stevens has survived on whatever he can acquire through his coupons and from bartering those coupons for rides, lodging and other needs. If he lasts until May 10, 2011, Groupon will award Stevens $100,000.

"It's almost like a yearlong business trip," Stevens says. Except that his only business is surviving.

"They let me start off with a pair of socks, a pair of underwear and a paper suit, tailored to fit me, made out of Groupons," Steven says of day he began the challenge in May. He used his first Groupon wisely.

"It was for a horse-and-carriage ride leaving Groupon's office to find a clothing store," recalls Stevens. He used more coupons to buy a pair of jeans, a Blackhawks T-shirt and a Cubs hoodie. Since then, he's used Groupons (which offer discounts for other users but get things free for Stevens) for everything from meals and beds to balloon rides and massages.

"I haven't touched a penny in over six months," Stevens says. "And I've made some really good friends."

Although it was a mention of Groupon on Oprah's "Ultimate Favorite Things" show Friday that overwhelmed the Groupon website, Stevens now boasts more than 13,000 fans who follow his adventures on his "Live Off Groupon" Facebook page, Twitter or his blog at http://liveoffgroupon.com.

"A lot of the success should be credited to his fans," Mossler says.

"My wall was flooded with messages offering to help," reads a typical Stevens' Facebook entry after fans found him a ride in Tennessee from Nashville to Louisville. Josh has been all over New England and the Midwest, spent a month in the Seattle area and is in Florida today. He's done some amazing things and been amazed by some more common pursuits.

"I didn't think I'd ever do a yoga class or get a manicure or a pedicure," Stevens says, adding that he enjoyed these new experiences.

"Groupon is notorious for pushing you outside your comfort zone," Mossler says.

"I traded one for laser hair removal," Stevens says. "I didn't redeem that one."

Fans describe the big guy as "cuddly" and "adorable," and express envy for his new lifestyle. But Stevens spends a lot of time tweeting, blogging, updating his Facebook page and scrambling to get his next meal, a place to sleep or a ride.

As thrilled as he was to win the contest and the chance at 100 grand, "that excitement was immediately overshadowed as I had to put my life on hold," Stevens says. "I've got nothing. Everything is in storage or canceled."

He cut up credit cards and agreed to a litany of strict rules, such as he can't make any money or have overnight visits from his family, friends or his girlfriend.

"We refer to her as 'Girlpawn,'" Stevens says of his girlfriend in Chicago, who appears on his computer through their Skype connection. When Stevens describes her as "unbelievably supportive," she comically holds her finger and thumb closer together to indicate that should be dialed down to a "little bit."

"We were extremely up-front…'You're basically signing your life away,'" Mossler told him when he applied.

Stevens is game.

"I realize I didn't want to work in a cubicle my whole life," he says, adding that he's always possessed "the entrepreneurial spirit" that allows him to appreciate the challenges.

"There are days you have to come up with so many contingencies," Stevens says, explaining how he can't set up a ride unless he has a place to stay and he doesn't need to waste time finding a place to stay if he can't get a ride. "It gets difficult. You have to get everything to come together all at once."

Like the idea of returning to Buffalo Grove to eat Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

"I would love to. I'm looking into that right now," Stevens says from Tampa, where he says he spent the night "with strangers, who aren't strangers after I met them last week." He hopes to finagle a ride to Orlando and trade coupons for a flight to the Midwest where he hopes to use a Groupon voucher for a bus ride to Chicago or trade it for a car ride to Buffalo Grove.

By then he'll probably be ready to use another of those massage coupons.