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Groceries Spreadsheet to help me budget?

Hi there,

Not entirely sure I'm posting on the right board here but I was wondering if anyone has any links to a spreadsheet or budget list that I could use to get the grocery spending down in black and white! I don't have excel so anything that's not excel would be good - everything seems to be these days though! I'm trying to do it on paper just by writing everything down but I'm confusing myself with it and missing things out and its all looking a bit messy now! I just want something that allows me to work out what we've spent on fruit, veg, dairy, meats, bread, cereals, sweets, pet food, meals, drinks, cleaning materials etc by the week and month so I can try to work out why and how we're spending so much money and how I can then cut it down!! Thanks for any help.

Regards


Michelle
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Comments

  • Katgoddess
    Katgoddess Posts: 1,821
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    It's a good idea. I've just made one as I'm bored on my day off. :D

    It's only an amature attempt as I'm only learning.

    Just need to find somewhere to host it as Orange are playing silly !!!!!!s at the moment.
  • wigginsmum
    wigginsmum Posts: 4,150 Forumite
    I do have mine on Excel, but basically the columns are Date, Item, Where Bought, three categories - Food/Household/Cats, Comparable Sainsburys Price, Pin Money (a plus or minus figure depending on whether it was cheaper or more expensive than the Sainsburys equivalent).

    I do a running total per month in each of the three categories, and an overall total.
    The ability of skinny old ladies to carry huge loads is phenomenal. An ant can carry one hundred times its own weight, but there is no known limit to the lifting power of the average tiny eighty-year-old Spanish peasant grandmother.
  • Katgoddess
    Katgoddess Posts: 1,821
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    Ok look at this one, then make it better to suit yourself:

    http://mysite.orange.co.uk/katgoddess/Shopping_Budget.xls

    ETA instructions:

    Click on each sheet at the bottom for the relavant section(the coloured tabs if you are using Excel) and then add each item into column A, and the price into column B. The total for each department will appear in the box in column D. On the grand total tab there is all the departments together and a fancy graph.

    What I would do is save a blank copy and start a new spreadsheet every month/week, however you are counting your shopping budget. (Someone with fancier skills than mine could probably do a reconciliation and add each monthly/weekly figure into a grand total for the year.)

    You could probably add an extra column to C to add the shop where you brought it from. It shouldn't mess with the formula.

    Hope that makes sense.
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129
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    I'm hosting quite a few Old Style spreadsheets here:-

    http://www.squeaky.demon.co.uk/spreadsheets/spreadsheet.html

    I'll be happy to add more to the page :)
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
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  • Katgoddess
    Katgoddess Posts: 1,821
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    squeaky wrote:
    I'm hosting quite a few Old Style spreadsheets here:-

    http://www.squeaky.demon.co.uk/spreadsheets/spreadsheet.html

    I'll be happy to add more to the page :)

    You can add mine if you like. :D
  • youngmum_2
    youngmum_2 Posts: 242 Forumite
    I don't have Excel either but am still having problems getting any of those spreadsheets to open bar 1! :mad:

    Sorry to hijack this thread slightly but does anyone know where I can get a copy of Excel, cheaply of course. :p
  • Pink.
    Pink. Posts: 17,675
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    youngmum wrote:
    Sorry to hijack this thread slightly but does anyone know where I can get a copy of Excel, cheaply of course. :p

    Hi youngmum,

    If you ask on the techie board or the I wanna board, you should get some help on finding the cheapest place to buy a copy of Excel.

    Pink
  • madauri
    madauri Posts: 636 Forumite
    You can make a useful table using Word too. It doesn't go so far as Excel, but you can make quite a good one, including formulas. Just use the "insert field" option for that.
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  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129
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    Katgoddess wrote:
    You can add mine if you like. :D

    OK, will do, thanks :)
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
    DTFAC: Y.T.D = £5.20 Apr £0.50
  • Katgoddess
    Katgoddess Posts: 1,821
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    youngmum wrote:
    I don't have Excel either but am still having problems getting any of those spreadsheets to open bar 1! :mad:

    Sorry to hijack this thread slightly but does anyone know where I can get a copy of Excel, cheaply of course. :p

    Have you tried using open office? They have a spreadsheet program in there called Calc. Open Office is FREE and open sourced :D

    I've just opened my spreadsheet in it and it works fine.

    http://www.openoffice.org/
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