I am in grad school and the Safeway club card keeps me alive!
I have rarely/never had a problem with getting the discounts. Frankly, don't buy very much from them which is not discounted.
The 3-day old meats that are marked down?
I shop weekly at our local Vons (Southern California Safeway stores), and I save a HUGE amount of money using two tools:
1) The Vons Club Card
and, most importantly
2) A little secret that my wife and I stumbled upon earlier this year -- http://www.thegrocerygame.com
Between coupons and club card savings, I save on average 50-60% of my grocery bill. You should see the jaws drop on the people behind me in line when my the monitor goes from a bill of $250 down to $115 in a matter of seconds...