Healthy eating can be affordable. There are lots of ways to save money while making healthy choices at the grocery store.

Use the following tips to save money and eat well:

Plan Ahead

• Set a budget to determine how much money you can spend on groceries each week or month.
• Use Canada’s food guide to plan meals and snacks. Include vegetables and fruits, whole grain foods and protein foods.
• Check foods you have on hand. Make a list of only the foods you need to buy in order to prepare the meals and snacks in your plan.
• Look for sales. Check out flyers, emails, websites, mobile apps and social media.
• Check grocery store for member discount programs or bonus days (e.g., seniors discount day).

Shopping

• Stick to your grocery list.
• Shop on a full stomach. If you shop when you are hungry, you may buy foods not on your grocery list.
• Use the nutrition facts table on food labels to help choose foods lower in sodium, sugars and saturated fat. For more information, see Canada’s food guide and How to use food labels to make healthier choices.
• Buy store brands as they are often less expensive than brand names.
• Be aware of food marketing that encourages the purchase of processed and ready-made foods as they are usually more expensive and less healthy.
• Compare shelf sticker prices per 100 g or 100 mL to find the best buys. If the bigger package of food is cheaper, it’s a good buy as long as you can use it up or freeze it before it spoils.