I continue to be amazed by how much money I can save if I do little pre-planning before my shopping trip. It really comes down to 2 things for me - making sure my list is as complete as possible and that I’ve loaded or clipped all the relevant coupons based on my list; these activities are now a regular part of my weekly routine.   Coupons for my upcoming shopping trip are kept in a clip and attached to my shopping list on the refrigerator so I don’t forget them.  Knowing that I don’t have to worry about the digital coupons (www.safeway.com/Coupons) I’ve loaded right to my card is a huge plus – less coupons to carry with me!  And if there is a manufacturer coupon and a sale or store coupon for the same item – bonus!  I typically save around $10-$15 a trip just with coupons alone – that adds up!  What are some of your coupon tips?

Yes, that’s correct, every day, from now through December 24th, you can redeem a coupon good for one FREE item with a minimum $20 purchase on you club card.  Cake mix, eggs, smoked & breakfast sausage, brown/powdered sugar, 2-liter soda, potatoes, chocolate chips, mini muffins, and dinner rolls.  See yesterday’s Sunday ad for details and your coupons.  Each coupon is good for one day only and only on the one day specified, so plan your shopping accordingly.  This certainly helps the holiday baking & cooking budget!

Here's some great news, many of the coupons you print from our website, and brought to you by Coupons.com are now available to electronically download to your club card. Not all the "print from home" coupons have the download option yet, but more and more will eventually have it and we just couldn't wait to bring this new feature to you! Just like the Shortcuts, Cellfire, and P&G eSAVER coupons - no more printing and cutting, simply download the savings right to your card and when you make the purchase the savings will automatically be applied to your bill! Once you download your coupons, don't forget to go back to the "print at home" area in the Coupon Center to pick up any additional coupons you may want to print (the ones you've downloaded will automatically show up as "added"). Super Price Coupons will still be available in the weekly ad, and of course there are still the manufacturer coupons that come in the Sunday paper - plenty of ways to save!

If you haven't seen this past Sunday's ad, you should take a look. It's loaded with Super Price Coupons, 33 to be exact, across a wide range of products. Family favorites like peanut butter, and mac & cheese, cereal, snacks, frozen foods, dairy, personal care, bath tissue, and laundry! There's even a coupon for deli meat and diapers too! With so many coupons I just had to do the math on the savings - it was nearly $40!

We have a great sale on Halloween candy right now, prices good through Tuesday, October 27th. Buy any four bags of Hershey’s or Mars fun size candy and it’s just $2 a bag! I have to confess, Max and I use Halloween as an excuse to buy our favorite treats, since we rarely buy candy during the rest of the year (too tempting to keep in the house!). The fun size bars are perfect for portion control, one is just enough to satisfy a craving without putting you over your calorie count for the day. What are your favorite Halloween treats?

Have you signed up yet for the Safeway email program?  You’ll receive a weekly email giving you a heads up on weekly specials, promotions and coupons.  And as the holidays get closer you’ll also get information on recipes and leftovers, and planning and decorating tips too!  There were some great tips and tricks last year, like the turkey carving video – always good to have a refresher on that since we only do it once a year!  And the recipes to make the most of your holiday leftovers?  Yum! 

There are some great deals in the ad this week, prices good through Tuesday the 20th. Beverages, breakfast sausage, rice & pasta side dishes, canned beans, and toothpaste, all for $1 or less! And did you catch the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese 48 hour sale this past weekend (5/$2)? I took advantage of that price to restock my pantry, a favorite comfort food for the girls now that the weather is cool and the rain has started. They love it topped with Romano cheese, sometimes we’ll add in steamed broccoli too. What creative twists and recipes using mac and cheese do you have?

There are a lot of staples in the 10 for $10 promotion that I wanted to make sure you took advantage of – rice, pre-packaged salad, tuna, O Organic Beans, mac & cheese, fresh chicken leg quarters, canned tomatoes, and some fresh produce items too! And just in case you were unsure, you actually don’t have to buy ten to get the $1 each price. Check it out; you won’t want to miss this opportunity to stock up!

Hard to believe, but September has been crowned National Coupon month (and National Life Insurance Awareness month, who comes up with these things?). Anyway, in honor of this “observance” the Promotion Marketing Association’s Coupon Council released a study which had an interesting fact that I thought I’d pass along in the hopes of nudging you non-couponers to the other side – those who spend 15-20 minutes a week clipping and organizing their coupons save on average, $5 - $10 a week! And, now there are so many more ways to get coupons. In addition to the manufacturer coupons in the Sunday paper and the Safeway Super Price Coupons in our store flyer you can also go online to our website and print out coupons and/or download them directly to your club card. The downloadable coupons (P&GeSaver, Shortcuts & Cellfire) automatically redeem at the store when you buy the products, so you don’t have to remember to bring paper coupons to the store! If you haven’t had the time to clip or click coupons, give it a try, in honor of National Coupon Month!

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This is a great time to try it out!  Through June 16^th, new customers get free delivery on their first order (only $50 minimum).   AND any orders placed in the next 60 days are delivered free too! I know for me, there are weeks when I just can’t get to the store for my weekly trip, either because I’ve been out of town or just too busy with life’s activities – those weeks Safeway delivery is a life saver!  Then there are those weeks when I’m trying to save up a little from my grocery budget to get something for the house or kids (like swim suits and sandals for summer!)  - grocery delivery helps me out here too because it’s really easy to stick to my budget.  With an offer like this it’s a great time to kick the tires of the service and see if it makes sense for you.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

We’ve been hearing a lot about how everyone is using coupons to help manage their grocery budget and we’ve also seen that there are a lot of questions about how to use our Super Coupons.  So, I thought it might be helpful to go straight to the marketing team and ask them to put together a short “glossary” of the common terms you see on our Super Coupons.   Here’s a link http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Smart-Savings-Tips, I hope it helps! 

During my last business trip I was surprised to hear a shopper, who loves & uses coupons every time she shops, express frustration that stores don’t offer coupons for meat and produce.   She obviously had not been to our website to check out the on-line coupons!   She couldn’t have been happier when we told her that she could find coupons for our fresh departments on our website.   So I wanted to mention it again for those who might be reading this blog for the first time.   We regularly offer online coupons (that you print and bring to the store) formeat, produce, deli, floral, and bakery, plus all the categories you usually see (cereal, juice, etc.).  If you’ve been reading this blog you know that I’m a “clicker and a clipper”, using whatever coupons I can get my hands on to save some money.  Savings usually add up to $5 - $10 a week – that’s easily over $250 a year!  

I discovered a feature on our website that I wanted to share(apparently it’s been available “forever” according to our InteractiveMarketing team - who knew?).  I was checking out the online coupons anddecided to look at the weekly specials online as well when I stumbled on theability to create and print a shopping list directly from the ad – I lovethis!  I already use the ad to plan my trip, writing in items from theflyer to my list (which I keep on the fridge, along with my coupons), now it’smuch easier & complete.  There’s even a space to “add notes” which Iused to fill in items that I didn’t see in the ad.  The printed listincludes a photo, description, price, a space to change the quantities, and thedates that the price is valid for each item.  Having a list that detailedwill help me make sure I’m getting the right products and make it easier for meto send “someone else” to do the shopping.  Just enter your zip codein the Weekly Specials area on the home page - http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Weekly-Specials.Click on the store nearest you to view the specials, click on the ad, pagethrough, and add the items you want to your list.  I prefer the “html”browse mode since the view includes the ad as well as a list of the items onthat page which makes it easier to add them to the shopping list.  Whenyou’re done, click on “view list” at the bottom of your shopping list on theleft side of the page, this is where you can double check, add your notes,and/or change quantities - print when complete. Check it out!