The Grocery Goddess Returns with A GIVEAWAY!!

That's right, folks, I'm having a giveaway! Thanks to the marvelous folks at MyBlogSpark (and Safeway and FiberOne) I am hosting my very first giveaway! Spread the word, yo.

Through MyBlogSpark, FiberOne and Safeway gave me the opportunity to try the new FiberOne Yogurt (for free!) and to blog about my opinions of it. I also got a bonus $50 Safeway gift card for participating. One lucky reader will also be getting a $50 Safeway gift card, but more on that in a moment.

The FiberOne yogurt comes in several flavors, including Vanilla, Strawberry, Peach and Key Lime Pie (though the Safeway I went to didn't have the last one). I chose Vanilla, and while I was initially put off by the fact that the box proudly proclaims that it contains aspartame, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I am ridiculously sensitive to artificial sweeteners and I can taste them no matter what anyone else says about how they taste just like sugar. The same does hold true for this yogurt, but it's less of a kick-you-in-the-mouth fake sweetener taste and more a subtle aftertaste. The texture and overall flavor of the yogurt were actually pretty good, and honestly, for only 50 calories a cup you can't beat it (plus it has 20% of your daily fiber requirements, so that's cool). By the way, if any of you are interested, you can get FiberOne yogurt at Safeway (and affiliate stores: Dominik's, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi's) for 2/$4 with your Safeway card (through next Tuesday, 2/9). I think they're 2/$5 without the card, so still not a bad deal. The FiberOne website also has a coupon for $2 off the purchase of the yogurt, so this is a fantastic deal! 

With my $50 gift card, I was able to do the vast majority of our grocery shopping for the week (I still went to Target and Sunflower for a few items) and then some, and I still have some left on the card. Go me! I was super proud of this, so pay attention :-).

• 2 Sweet Baby Ray's Barbeque sauce, on sale for $0.99 each
• One box Nature Valley Granola Bars, $1.50 with purchase of 4 total participating items, plus coupon for $0.40/1 which doubled to $0.80, final cost $0.70
• One bag Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters, $1.50 with purchase of 4 participating items, plus $1/1 coupon here, final cost $0.50
• Two boxes Cheerios cereal, $1.50 with purchase of 4 participating items, plus 2 $1/1 coupons (I was actually able to print my email coupon twice), final cost $0.50 each
• 1 can Safeway pineapple, on sale for 10/$10, final cost $1
• 1 can tomato paste, $0.99
• 1 bottle Kikkoman Soy Sauce, on sale for  $1.99
• 4 cans Campbell's Chunky Soup, on sale for 4/$5, plus $0.50/4 coupon doubled to $1, final price $1 each
• 3 packages of Mission tortillas, Safeway coupon made them $0.99 each
• 1 package corn tortillas, $2
• 1 graham cracker pie crust, $2.39
• 1 box Annie Chun's Pad Thai Noodles, $3.25 plus $1/1 coupon, final price $2.25
• Caribou Coffee, $9.99 plus $1/1 coupon, final price $8.99
• 1 80 ft roll Reynolds Aluminum Foil on sale for $3.49, plus Safeway Coupon for $0.50, plus coupon for $1.25/1, final price $1.74
• Lucerne 2% milk, $1.99
• Lucerne Reduced Fat Sour Cream, on sale for $1.29
• FiberOne Yogurt, FREE after coupon
• 1 small bottle orange juice (I know, impulse buy, but I am recovering from being sick AGAIN and I was thirsty), $1.79
• 1 California Pizza Kitchen pizza, on sale for $3.99 (with purchase of 3 total participating items), plus $1/1 coupon, final price $2.99
• 2 Freschetta Pizzas, same deal as CPK, plus 2 $1/1 coupons, final price $2.99 each
• Suave body wash, on sale for $1.99, plus $0.50/1 coupon doubled to $1, final price $1

I also got $0.30 off for bringing my own bags. My grand total spent was $47.48. My savings? $42.80, or 48%. GO ME!

When we lived in Washington, Safeway was actually our preferred store. After Trader Joe's, I mean. *Sigh* Oh, TJ's, how I miss you. Anyway... once we moved back here we realized that King Soopers generally has better prices than just about anyone, and we only go to Safeway for specific items that are on sale. This week I was impressed by the store-wide price reductions in order to be more competitive, and as you can see, if you stack coupons with sales and store coupons you can make out like a bandit. This was a great chance for me to get re-acquainted with Safeway. I realize that the food groups are not all well-represented here, but as I said, I picked up other items elsewhere.

On to the giveaway!

The folks at FiberOne and the Safeway family of stores (Dominik's, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi's), through MyBlogSpark, would like to give one of my readers a $50 gift card of your very own!

To enter:
1. Post a comment here sharing your favorite or best tip on keeping your family's budget under control.
2. You can get one extra entry if you post a link to my giveaway in your own blog! Post the link to your post in a separate comment.

This giveaway will end at 9:00pm Mountain Time (11:00pm Eastern Time) on Friday, February 12. The winner will be announced on February 13. Good luck, everyone!