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!

http://www.dvdplay.com/promotions/triple-play-promotional-offer.html

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!