Looking for advice on a simple food budget tracker I’m testing

capital_mal245

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to get better at keeping my grocery costs under control — but I always seem to overspend. Snacks and impulse buys sneak into the trolley, and at the end of the week I’m not sure where the money’s gone.

I’ve used a few budgeting apps, but most of them felt too complicated — they track everything (rent, bills, petrol), when what I really wanted was something simple just for food shopping.

So I started putting together a small tool that:

• Breaks down your weekly shop (basics, fresh food, snacks, impulse buys).

• Helps spot patterns (healthy vs treats, planned vs impulse).

• In the future, could even compare supermarket prices.

It’s very early days — but I’d love your advice:

1. Would this be useful for you?

2. How do you currently track your food spending (if at all)?

3. Are there features you’d expect that I haven’t thought of?

Thanks a lot  

Mark_d

I don't track food spending.  I have a shopping list and I only buy the items on the list - albeit I might buy different brands or equivalent items depending on special offers.

Shopping at tesco.com rather than at the physical supermarket means there much less scope for distractions/temptations.

gwynlas

As above many people now shop on line to resist impulse buying.
Others meal plan based on store cupboard and freezer, making and sticking to a list of additional items required,
In the past when money was tight I wold try and get as much as I could for £5.
Just wandering around a supermarket without any notion of consequences can lead to either buying more fresh food than you are able use, leading to food waste, or other impulse buys that break the budget.

Occasional indulgences are all very good but for the sake of health and wealth should only be that.

A tracker might sound like a good idea but unless you enjoy data entry and spreadsheets seems like an added chore

friolento

Personally I don’t find it helpful to track (and plan) just one element of my spending. Even if my spending on food was the majority of my spending (it isn’t, by a long way), I would also want to know about everything else (hair cuts, travel / petrol, insurance, dental, hygiene, sports, mortgage, insurances, pets, taxes / levies, house and car maintenance and repairs, clothing / shoes, entertainment, holidays, presents, donations, subscriptions etc etc etc etc)

capital_mal245

Mark_d said:

I don't track food spending.  I have a shopping list and I only buy the items on the list - albeit I might buy different brands or equivalent items depending on special offers.

Shopping at tesco.com rather than at the physical supermarket means there much less scope for distractions/temptations.

That’s a solid system. A list and online shopping really cut out the temptations. I’ve had the opposite problem, I still end up adding extras, so tracking helped me see it.

capital_mal245

gwynlas said:

As above many people now shop on line to resist impulse buying.
Others meal plan based on store cupboard and freezer, making and sticking to a list of additional items required,
In the past when money was tight I wold try and get as much as I could for £5.
Just wandering around a supermarket without any notion of consequences can lead to either buying more fresh food than you are able use, leading to food waste, or other impulse buys that break the budget.

Occasional indulgences are all very good but for the sake of health and wealth should only be that.

A tracker might sound like a good idea but unless you enjoy data entry and spreadsheets seems like an added chore

Meal planning makes such a difference, especially with waste. I get what you mean about tracking feeling like a chore,  I’ve been trying to keep it really simple, just a quick check-in instead of another task.

capital_mal245

friolento said:

Personally I don’t find it helpful to track (and plan) just one element of my spending. Even if my spending on food was the majority of my spending (it isn’t, by a long way), I would also want to know about everything else (hair cuts, travel / petrol, insurance, dental, hygiene, sports, mortgage, insurances, pets, taxes / levies, house and car maintenance and repairs, clothing / shoes, entertainment, holidays, presents, donations, subscriptions etc etc etc etc)

That makes sense. For me, food was the bit that always slipped, so focusing on it separately gave me more insight than when I tracked everything at once. I guess it depends on where each person feels the biggest leaks are.