As part of my Money Saving University article series, welcome to Shaw’s 101! In this article, you will learn about all the great ways you can save at Shaw’s ^[2].

I am also including a lot of information I received at a recent “Blogger Day” hosted by Shaw’s. It was a pleasure attending this Blogger Day where I had an opportunity to meet with the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Distribution for Shaw’s as well as many of his colleagues. What a great time we had, and even I learned a few things I didn’t know about Shaw’s! Shocking, I know. I was especially impressed with how Shaw’s is so focused on FAMILY and its recognition that families are struggling in this difficult economy. Many of Shaw’s “Ways to Save” are a direct result of its efforts to help more families save.

If you are someone who feels that Shaw’s is more expensive than other grocery stores, I’d ask you to take a second look. Just ask Wendy over at Simple Thrift ^[3] who thought she couldn’t afford to shop at Shaw’s on her very limited budget. By using manufacturers’ coupons, store coupons, and Shaw’s preferred savings she ended up paying $61.55, resulting in a savings of $83.68. That’s pretty good! I’m happy to say that Wendy was sure to check out my weekly Shaw’s post before she headed out! Check out the results of her Shaw’s experiment here ^[4].

Anyone who reads Wicked Cool Deals knows that Shaw’s is one of my favorite places to grocery shop. This is so for one simple reason – Shaw’s provides the most opportunities to SAVE.

Save with Weekly Specials. Shaw’s has over 5,000 specials every week which makes menu planning around sales easy. And, with so many specials there are more opportunities to match up coupons to sales to really maximize savings.

Save with Store Coupons. Shaw’s offers a weekly selection of “Get Inspired” coupons that you can print right from home or pick up in the store. There is often a great selection of coupons for Shaw’s store brand products, meat, fish, and produce. And, there are often a few store coupons for popular name brand items, and if you have a manufacturer’s coupon for that same item you can use both (“stack”) to really save!

Save with Double Coupons. Shaw’s doubles manufacturer’s coupons up to $.99 every day. Double coupons is one of the best ways to save on grocery spending. Shaw’s also accepts coupons printed from the Internet which is a big bonus. However, note that Shaw’s will not accept an Internet coupon for a “Free” item.

Save with Weekly In-Ad Coupons. Each week Shaw’s has one of the largest selections of in-ad coupons among its competitors. These in-ad coupons are a great way to save. And often some in-ad coupons are Shaw’s store coupons, so again another opportuntity to save more by “stacking” a manufacturer’s coupon for that same item.

Save with Competitor Coupons. Shaw’s accepts most competitor coupons which not only saves money, it saves time because you only have to go to one store to get the very best deals. Stop & Shop dollar doublers? Shaw’s will accept them. Price Chopper triple coupon? Shaw’s will accept that too. Using competitor coupons at Shaw’s is one of the best and easiest ways I save money. And, like a Shaw’s store coupon if it is a competitor store coupon you can “stack” a manufacturer’s coupon to save even more!

Save with Locked in Specials. Shaw’s has thousands of products with prices “locked in” through September 10. These “locked in” specials are essentially sale prices so you can count on these sale prices for many months. Saving on your grocery bill is much easier when you know what prices you can expect, and it is a bonus to get such extended sale prices! And, locked in sale prices make it much easier to use coupons; there’s no need to rush out to take advantage of a coupon that matches up with a sale. You can take your time using your coupons because you know the “sale” price is good for months. Click Here ^[5] for a list of “Locked” in prices until 9/10/09.

Save on Gas! Gas prices are again on the rise. At Shaw’s, when you use your Shaw’s Rewards Card you can save money right at the pump! The more you spend, the more you save at participating Gulf or Irving locations. Visit http://www.irvingoil.com/ ^[6] for a complete listing of participating Irving locations.

$50-$99.99 = $.10/gal
$100-$149.99 = $.20/gal
$150-$199.99 = $.30/gal
$200-$249.99 = $.40/gal
$250-$299.99 = $.50/gal
$300 or more = $.60/gal

Save with Price Watch. Shaw’s watches its competitors’ prices on what we buy most. That means when you shop at Shaw’s you know you are getting the very best prices on items you buy every day.

Save with Shaw’s Store Brands. You can save even more when you switch to Shaw’s brand products like Culinary Circle (chef-inspired cuisine), homelife (paper goods and household products), Wild Harvest (natural and organic products), equiline (over the counter medications, vitamins, and health & beauty items), Happy Tails (pet products), Shopper’s Value (Shaw’s brand on a budget), Baby Basics (baby care), and Signature Brand Collection (high quality meats). Get more details on all of Shaw’s store brands here ^[7]. And there are coupons for Wild Harvest here ^[8].

So there it is, all the ways to save more at Shaw’s. Did I miss anything? If there is a great way YOU save at Shaw’s please leave a comment!