The amount of money a family spends weekly out of their budget during a trip to the grocery store varies wildly from home to home.  

Income, lifestyle, nutritional needs, food restrictions and the number and age of children in the family help to shape and re-shape a grocery budget yearly and sometimes even monthly.  

Parents and caretakers will all agree however, that an opportunity to save on a weekly basket of goodies is always a welcome treat.

For now we will bypass the traditional coupon clipping from the weekly paper and focus on some very innovative ways that stores are trying to entice their customers.  Below are three easy ways to save at local grocery stores.  

Kudos to Kroger!

Gas prices have been rising quickly over the past few months but savvy Southwest Atlanta shoppers are finding a way to receive a 10¢ discount on every gallon of gas they put into their car.  Kroger grocery stores have teamed with select Shell gas stations to provide fuel points that can be used to lower the price on your weekly visit to the pump.  

From Kroger.com, this is how the program works:  

For each increment of 100 Points redeemed at the pump, 10¢ off per gallon is awarded at Kroger or select Shell locations on a single fill up.
There are three ways to earn Points in Kroger stores: 
1. Spending on Groceries (normal exclusions apply): $100 in Groceries = 100 Points 
2. Non-federally funded Prescriptions: 2 Prescriptions = 100 Points 
3. Double Gift Card Points (normal exclusions apply): $50 in Gift Cards = 100 Points 

To find the station nearest you, participating in the program, visit Shell's on-line station finder.

Proud of Publix!

While there are still a few grocery stores who frown upon the use of printable coupons, we are proud that our local Publix at Cascade Crossing embraces the use of these time saving tools.  Now you can search, find and print coupons from all over the internet within minutes.  Sites such as Coupon Mom.com and Coupons.com provide subscribers with links to the best coupons on the web and companies such as Izze Natural Soda and Coffeemate use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to offer coupons to those who "like" or "follow" them.  

For those shoppers who forget to pick up the Sunday paper or only want to receive coupons that they will actually use, printable coupons are a smart, frugal and green way to go! Find a Publix near you and give them a call, they will be happy to verify their coupon acceptance policy before your next visit.

Texts from Target!

Mobile coupons are a penny pinchers dream come true.  No paper, no printing, no hassles, just a simple text message appearing on your phone that says "Your new weekly ad is ready." Target stores allow anyone with a web-enabled phone to receive regular text messages that include coupons and sales announcements. There are also Android, iPhone and iPad Apps that put you in complete control of your savings.

To use the coupon that you see on your phone, simply hand the phone to the cashier and they will scan the bar-code that appears on your screen.  Deals include coupon savings on food items, clothing and household goods, food court meals and even a daily listing of "One Day Deals."  Our nearest Target Store is located inside of the Camp Creek Marketplace.

Everyone loves a great deal and these offers make it easy to save.  

"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship."—Benjamin Franklin