What’s the real deal? Why were prices so high in the first place? The honest answer is: Because they could be. People were more flush with money, they had jobs, bills were getting paid, and high grocery prices were an almost accepted fact of life. Now with all the additional coupons from grocers and manufacturers, we are in a different world. The worry is that economic signs are improving and grocers will return to their old ways.

First, you need to be a member. Membership loyalty cards, those pesky things that are all over your keychain, are often necessary to get the savings. Most chains let you type in your phone number rather than make you carry the 500-lb assortment of ways you are trying to save. Whether a club card, card saver, or whatever it’s called, it is the modus operandi of the shopping universe.

Wegmans came up with a response to consumer anxiety this past Sunday when their senior vice president of consumer affairs Mary Ellen Burris turned her weekly column into a road map of good economic strategies. She recognizes they have seen changed buying habits, house-brand shopping, and greater focus on less expensive prepared foods. They stress they are committed to maintaining their prices and remain focused on how many items are less expensive now than they were in ‘08.

A new volley was tossed out today, food circular Wednesday, as Giant Food introduced its new point-based savings plan: Each dollar is a point, 250 points is 5 % off a future order (800 points earns a 20% off reward). They call it the Holiday Reward Coupon of Your Choice.

The gloves are off. May these strategies serve as the model for other grocers as we are far from being out of the woods. The holiday’s are coming, and we all appreciate that beef, pork, chicken, bread and dairy are less expensive than they were.

We are different diners, shoppers, and cooks. We will not go back to those spendthrift, carefree days of accepting high prices. We need the incentives to continue, and the grocers to recognize that the early part of the decade exhibited behavior we no longer can afford to stomach.

Price spikes need to stay off the shelves.