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Appreciation post: My grocery bill tracking spreadsheet turned into a two-week project
I wanted to get a better handle on my food spending, so I decided to build a simple spreadsheet. I thought it would take an hour, tops. I started by just listing my regular stores, but then I got the idea to add a column for price per ounce to compare unit costs. That led me down a rabbit hole of entering every single item from my last five receipts to get an average price. I spent hours one Saturday just typing in numbers for things like canned beans and pasta. Then I tried to make a chart to show where my money was going, but the chart looked bad and I had to redo it. All in all, from start to a sheet I actually use, it took about fourteen days of on-and-off work. It was way more than I signed up for, but seeing those numbers really showed me where I was overspending on snacks. Has anyone else had a simple budget idea blow up into a huge time sink?
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coleman.karen2mo ago
Honestly, why not just eyeball your receipt and skip the whole spreadsheet thing?
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julia_fisher281mo ago
Totally get that. I tried the spreadsheet thing for groceries last month and gave up after three days. Spent more time typing in prices than actually shopping. Now I just round up in my head while I'm at the checkout. Close enough for me.
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