Supervalu, you made my day.

The company announced today that it is launching a “Refund Rewards” program to help consumers stretch their food dollars.

Basically, for every $250 or $300 gift card you purchase, the grocery store will tack on an additional $25 $20 or $30, respectively. This tax-time deal is good from March 15th through April 15th. Each household can buy a total of $1,250 worth of gift cards, not including the bonus amount.

The program is similar to the program Cub offered when we received our lump sum stimulus rebates last year….except you don’t need to bring in a tax refund check or deposit slip to take part. That’s good for me, because I owed a fair amount to Uncle Sam this year.

I took advantage of last year’s deal and plan to again this year. If you shop at a Supervalu-owned store and you’re organized enough not to lose the gift card, what’s to lose? If you purchase a $300 gift card, it’s like shaving 10 percent off your grocery bill or earning a 10 percent return on your money. Either way you look at it, it’s definitely a deal of the week!

Even if you mix up where you shop, it’s worth consideration. These gift cards don’t expire; I just finished my card from last summer in February.

If you were planning to use your tax refund to pay off debt, that’s probably the better choice. But if you were simply planning to save it, given the low return on CDs and savings accounts these days, you’re probably better off prepaying for your groceries and then transferring the dollar amount you normally spend on food into savings on a weekly, or monthly basis.

If you’re in the market for a job, or want to be prepared in case you lose yours, head to FedEx on Tuesday, March 10th. for 25 free copies of your resume on resume quality paper. One day only. Click here for deets.

I love free stuff and I know I’m not alone, especially in this economy. So…if you know of any other great freebies out there, comment and add a link below, or shoot an email to kmcguire@startribune.com.

Just a few minutes ago, as I watched the snow fall and learned about people heading home to beat the traffic, I received this lovely little e-mail from Punch Pizza.

We thought a free margherita today (or 5.95 off another pizza)
would help offset the gloom and doom of the weatherpeople.

Good until close tonight, Febraury 26th.  Either print this email
or show it to us on your phone.  If you are driving, be safe.
This offer is good for one per customer.

John and John

Hey. Can’t beat free pizza. In fact, I’m all for retailers and restaurants luring people out into blizzards for free stuff. Bring it on!

To get the free pizza, you probably have to sign up for their newsletter and get an offer of your own. Or follow  or friend the wood-fired pizza throwers.

Brilliant marketing strategy of the week: A hair salon giving a discount on services to investors that bring in their pitiful 401(k) statements.

From the release:
New customers who visit the Jon Charles Salon in Uptown in south Minneapolis will get to trim the percentage lost in a retirement fund for haircutting or coloring services from Jon and his new Creative Director Craig Weitz. All you need to do is bring proof of the 401K percentage loss and show it to the Salon’s cashier: It will be deducted from your bill, right there, no questions asked.

The discount is only up to 50 percent off, so if you failed to diversify out of Lehman Bros. stock or your 401(k) was invested with Bernard Madoff, you can’t get a free cut.

This personal finance dork also wonders if the deal will be honored for those of us with rollover IRAs or self employed folks with one of the many other flavors of retirement plans.

John Ewoldt, my Dollar Duo co-host, points out that if one really wants a deal, they should go one-door down to Fantastic Sams. But as a gal who loves a nice salon experience, with the magazines and free beverages and scalp massage, I have to disagree with him there.

I’d also suggest that many other establishments take a cue from this salon. I could definitely use a 401(k) loss-sized discount on groceries, cable, you name it!

My colleague Tom Horgen and I must be on the same wavelength. I started this post on Friday. This weekend he had a story on where to find “The New Deals” (get it?) on entertainment.

Here are two that aren’t mentioned in his story.

The Guthrie is bringing back its excellent food and play deal — “Beer, Burgers and the Bard” –for The Two Gentleman of Verona.  $30 bucks gets you a Summit, sliders and a ticket to the play. I took advantage of this deal to see the Government Inspector and I admit that my favorite part of the night was sitting outside on the patio outside Cue with a cold beer and about the best brat I’ve ever had.

Looks like the first night sold out already so they’re offering the deal again on St. Patty’s day (better make that free pint a Guinness).

Ka-Blog reader Nancy brought the next deal to my attention. You and a friend can eat free food, drink free wine, and hang out at The Bakken Museum for $7 next Tuesday? That’s for 2 of you! There’s a DJ too. Here’s the scoop.

Don’t keep the good deals to yourself. Share, share, share!