Keep calm and carry on....

South_coast

That's a lot of apples 😮!

LadyWithAPlan

South_coast said:

I completed my last grocery shop of the month earlier, so have totted up my totals. £89.59 spent, which feels about right. The largest category by far was £18.00 on frozen fruit (and I'll need more next week 🤦‍♀️). Add that to the other items needed to make my breakfast milkshakes and they're costing me just over £1 a day - I would never have thought that!!! 

I'm finding it weirdly fascinating to see how the individual items add up over the month (I can't believe I've bought 3 loaves of bread, for example - I'm blaming newgirly for that, for reminding me how much I like boiled eggs 🙄!) I'm also amazed I've bought 24 pints of milk - there's only one of me, and I don't drink tea or coffee 😮! Anyway, I'm intrigued by the tracking so I'm going to carry on for September!

Where is all that milk going? I guess your morning shakes - I make mine with water ... but yes interesting stuff. Are you tracking everything you buy ? In a spreadsheet or just via receipts?  If i did  that I feel the amount of crisps and sweets  i eat would become far too apparent ..

South_coast

Yes, all in the milkshakes, with the occasional small glass on its own. I've tried making them with water (when I've run out of milk 🤣) but it wasn't for me, plus I'm sure the protein does me good as I don't eat meat. 

I'm going to make a confession now, but very quietly as it might get me thrown out of MSE....I don't use spreadsheets at all outside of work 😳 (and I still became MF 🤣) So the grocery tracking was by way of keeping a draft email running with each item noted down from the receipts and then adding the new amounts on after each shop. It's the same way I track my free money every month. Everything was included, even the washing up brush and shower gel I didn't buy from the supermarket, because I would have counted them as groceries if I did, so thought I'd better count them even though I didn't 🤣!

themadvix

You’re definitely allowed not to use spreadsheets SC! 😂 I rarely do - DH has an OP spreadsheet but I rarely remember to update it, it’s just the actual paying that counts, as you’ve proven!!

South_coast

Phew 😅! I see so many "According to my spreadsheet...." and "You are using a spreadsheet, right....?" comments that I was beginning to feel it was obligatory 🤣🤣🤣!

Grogged

South_coast said:

I'm going to make a confession now, but very quietly as it might get me thrown out of MSE....I don't use spreadsheets at all outside of work 😳 (and I still became MF 🤣) 

I'm going to have to have a lay down now, NO spreadsheet?!?
You'll be telling me next that paper and pens still exist!🤣🤣🤣

I must admit that whilst my beautiful, beloved spreadsheet does all the heavy lifting, all my lists, etc. are on paper (and I still use a fountain pen as well). Much prefer writing over typing for that sort of thing.

greenbee

I’m with you on the no spreadsheets thing. I get enough of them (and struggle enough with them) at work. I see the numbers going down and dates changing in my banking app and that’s enough.  I look at my pensions in the relevant apps and hope they’re mostly headed in the right direction, and the same goes for savings and spending.

I find the best way to reduce grocery spending is to reduce the amount I eat… there are additional benefits to this!

South_coast

greenbee said:

I find the best way to reduce grocery spending is to reduce the amount I eat… there are additional benefits to this!

LOL, love this 🤣!

I keep all my accounts by pen and paper in an A4 book, money in at the top of the page, money out below (much easier since I just do a monthly transfer to spending pots, rather than documenting every transaction as I used to 😮!) The books last years, so I have them going back to when I was at Uni - when my expenditure and creative accounting was hilarious 🤣! Now that I also track my monthly "Money Needed" figure (to FI and a liveable home) I have that on the facing page - money needed at the top, minus the money I already have below, with the balance at the bottom being the amount I still need. I do have a mild urge to create a Money Needed graph, but it's easily suppressed 🤣!

Cheery_Daff

No judgement on the lack of spreadsheets here! I do have a mortgage free one (being roundly ignored at the minute) but I did just create two paper accounting lists for the kitchen project - one list showing me what we've already paid out so far in deposits, radiators etc, and the other showing the original cost estimate and what we're adding to it so we can make sensible decisions as we go along and not be met with a nasty shock at the end.

I do love a spreadsheet, but my home laptop is clunky and annoying right now, and as I have everything else about the kitchen in a paper folder, it's nice to have this easily visible too!

killerpeaty

I have to say that what you've described sounds just like a written spreadsheet to me. We get excessive amounts of them at work which is only concerning when they don't work. 

I love my spreadsheets but they are simple and very high level. For example people review their expenditure very thoroughly whereas I review my transactions once a month and note particularly large or unnecessary amounts. Otherwise I don't analyse too much, I should probably do more...