FREE Grocery Shopping Spreadsheet

To date, my post that receives the most traffic volume (consistently, even after it's initial post) is my personal story about how I organize for each shopping trip. People really are looking for a way to organize their shopping lists, and one of the easiest ways for me is to use a spreadsheet. 

Yes, it does take a few minutes to type up my spreadsheet, but it's still WAY faster than handwriting it. Believe me, I've tried. Plus, it quickly sorts and gives me all sorts of awesome data! A handwritten list can not show me how much I am spending at each store or how much I paid last year for milk and where I bought it. Yes, I do keep all my past spreadsheets (I really should keep them all in the same workbook but a different tab for each month... yeah for new ideas!).

In addition, a spreadsheet can be helpful as you are trying to plan for bulk purchases. How much do I need to save from my budget each week to save up for that coconut oil? OK, I think I'm getting way too giddy over this. I really hope someone else is seeing the potential, here.

In my original post, I only included screenshots and tips for how I create my formulas. For other geeks like me, I assume that might be enough information. However, if they are a geek like me, they probably would already have a spreadsheet. The goal of my blog and that post was to empower anyone to use a spreadsheet, as an organizational tool. However, it doesn't really help anyone that needs a bit of help starting the spreadsheet.

So, for my readers today, I am offering a FREE spreadsheet that you can copy and use for your own personal shopping list.

After you click the link, it will take you to GoogleDocs. You can download the file to your favorite spreadsheet program and save from there. To do this, go the top menu of this GoogleDocs file (not on your Web browser) and click "File," then "Download As." It will give you some options, select "Excel" or "OpenOffice," depending on the software that you have. See the screenshot below for an example.

Please note, that I did insert a few comments how I use a field or a formula. Be sure to read over my original post for tips on sorting your columns (always highlight the entire table first).

How do you like to keep up with your shopping budget?

P.S. I did create a pivot table (see the tab "Pivot Table 1") for tracking the purchases at each store. However, it does not appear to carry over the functionality to Open Office, when you download the file. Bummer! Will have to work on that.

Staying Organized and Under Budget: Shopping with Kids

A few weeks ago, I shared how I keep up with my menu plan and shopping list. And last week, I gave a beginner tutorial for clipping coupons. This week, I want to share how that plan keeps me sane at the grocery store... while shopping with kids. Yes, you can grocery shop with your children. I've had many strangers come up to me in the grocery store to tell me that they can't shop with their kids. Most of them have come up to me (conveniently) while one of the boys is throwing something out of the cart or unhappy. If you thought my kids were perfect... OK, I'll stop laughing now.

Why would I be crazy enough to take two boys to the grocery store(s), when I could get it done faster without them and without any fits? In my perspective, that wouldn't do any of us any good. Granted, I do try to sneak in a late-night grocery shopping trip, after hubby and I have put them to bed. That way, I can roam the aisles in a little quiet. However, there are a couple of reasons that I want to take them with me:

1. I want to go shopping when I need to go shopping, rather than trying to find someone to watch the kids. Hubby often works late or is "on call," so I need to be able to do my grocery shopping around my schedule. 
2. My kids need to learn how to act in a grocery store. It's not a playground, and they need to let others shop in peace.
3. It's a wonderful learning opportunity for them... all the colors in the produce department... all the signs with numbers!

I am learning that there are things that I can do to reduce meltdowns and tantrums. Here's what has worked for me.

I do have one caviat. Just so you don't think I'm superwoman, I did not start this until my youngest was down to just a morning and afternoon nap. Things got much easier, when there was only one nap involved; but it's do-able with two naps. When I had a newborn, we did take advantage of Lowes Foods to Go, which is a personal shopping service offered by the grocery store. This kept me sane in those first few weeks.

My Plan

Start small. Start with one or two stores, at first. If you have a shopping plan, you won't spend needless time browsing the aisles. Instead, you'll be able to pick up the few items on your list and check out. As they get the idea and you get more confident, you can add more stores. 

Get them on board. When I do my bi-monthly grocery shopping, I give them a couple-day's notice that we are coming up on our "shopping day." My youngest usually asks (while holding up 5 fingers), "Are we going to a lotta stores?" My response, "Yes, honey; and you are going to do great."

While there may be a slight change in plans, I let them know what order we are going to the stores. This is helping to teach them the concept of "beginning, middle, and end." Plus, I make them my little navigators. Regus #1 is 6 years old and is a precious, big helper. I am in awe of this (more in another post). I check in with him frequently on our car ride to figure out "the plan." He loves this! Sometimes, he tries to implement his own "plan." It's cute. If I'm extra patient that day, I'll theoretically walk him through his plan to see if it will work out for us. I'm not sure if he cares whether not it will work out.

Pack good snacks. In the past, I've tried taking special, sugary snacks. However, this just increases our chances for a meltdown. It dawned on me... what foods make me feel good? Fruits, veggies, and yogurt. Sometimes, I'll pack a grain snack (whole wheat crackers or pretzels), but these can also spike blood-sugar levels. . Space out the snacks throughout the shopping trip. We head out right after breakfast, so I know I have an hour or so before my ravenous boys start getting hungry again.

Our typical snack bag. It's a good idea to pack it the before
and store in the fridge, but I'm not always that organized.

Build in a break or two. When Regus #2 was a toddler, he could not handle being in a carseat or shopping cart for too long before getting restless. To alleviate this, I started planning around nearby parks. Yes, it does mean I need to pack a big cooler for my recent purchases. It has worked wonderfully to give them breaks throughout the shopping day. Normally, we do not go out to eat during the week, so I like to treat them to a lunch on our "shopping day."

Cooler is packed and boys are ready to go!

Give them some responsibility. For schoolage children, you can give them some part of the list or an item to find. As I mentioned earlier, Regus #1 has recently turned 6, and he's getting into my couponing. I usually give him a few of my expired ones that he puts in his pocket, like me. I'll let him "help me" find an item on my list. It keeps him distracted from bothering Regus #2 and makes him feel like a big helper. Other shoppers have giggled, hearing him ask me, "Is this a good price, Mommy?" or "Is this on sale?"

Be flexible. Be willing to shift the plan, if day isn't going as planned. There have been times when one of the boys was not feeling well all of a sudden. We'll just headed home and finish up another day. It's ok... life happens. I'm learning to find a balance between structure (planned day) and flexibility. The kids do thrive in a routine, but they do enjoy it when Mommy mixes things up a bit.

Smile. I figured this one out when I had to take a flight by myself when the boys were 1 and 3. Another blogger (wish I could remember who it was!!) said the best thing to when you have kids is SMILE. It was amazing. I had all sorts for airline personnel and strangers offering their help. Yes, grocery store employees are supposed to treat the customer nicely. Let's make their job easier. The adage really is true, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." By treating others nicely and with patience, it makes their day easier and more apt to help us... especially if we are toting around boys.

Ready to get the "shopping day" started!
(Why do I always tilt my head to the side? Ugh!)

Is it worth the effort?

I've seen the larger families, where the children stay right by their mom or help load things in and out of the cart. Maybe my boys, someday, will stay right beside me the whole day. There is hope, right?

My sanity.  Earlier this month, we completed our "shopping day" before lunch, so it was great to finally have such success. There were NO meltdowns, and I even had some snacks left over! Granted, the following shopping day was not quite as successful. I guess it's true: 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

The budget. When the kids are fed, I don't have to buy quick snacks (empty calories) off the shelf. This helps me stick to my plan and budget! 

The strategy. I do not run all over town for grocery shopping. If I am heading to another part of town, I have to justify it. There has to be 2 or more stores that I can visit to make my gas usage worth while.

Here's the loot. I did stop by the house and unload after the first store,
but this is the rest (Farmers Market, Kroger, Harris Teeter, and BJs).

Do you shop with your kids? What helps you stay focused?

Staying Organized and Under Budget: A Beginner Tutorial to Couponing

Couponing. It's all the rage right now. We're all pinching pennies and trying to be more frugal. I am by no means an extreme couponer. My goal is to use coupons and sales to save 40-50 percent off retail. In my house, we don't buy that much junk food (which is super easy to get super cheap with coupons, but I digress). Instead, I use it on dairy, frozen vegetables, condiments, dry ingredients, and some meats.

You may have a different reason or goal for your couponing, but I wanted to leave you with some tips from my own experiences. I know there are others with much more experience than I have. This is just meant to be a general overview of the couponing process.

You can read more about how I organize my coupons for my shopping trip here. I will warn you that I LOVE spreadsheets, so beware.

Matching the coupon to the sale. The #1 key to saving money with coupons is matching a coupon with an item on sale. Otherwise, the coupon used on a regular, retail item will cost the same as a generic brand item. There are some great websites and blogs that do most of the work (matching coupons to sales) for you.

Here are some of my favorite. I've included one of each of the main types of couponing sites (Database, Blog, and Forum):

CouponMom.com: This is fabulous database of stores and coupons. She requires you to create a username and password, but it's all free. She has a useful, downloadable tutorial for how to get started. There are three, main ways (that I've found) to use her site: (1) Search the database of all coupons to find out what you might have. (2) The BIG one: electronic listing of store sale flyers with valid coupons. She has a feature that you can check off which items you want to add to your list and have it printed or e-mailed to you. (3) Provides links to internet coupons and Target store coupons to be printed off your personal computer.


SouthernSavers.com: This is more of a blog style and highlights sales in the southeastern US. She also has a coupon database for this region. She has some very helpful video clips to explain more about couponing, which is useful for any region. Plus, you can print out a list of the items that you want to purchase. Love her!


HotCouponWorld.com: This site is more of a forum style. Deals and stores are listed under discussion topics. It is helpful to visit this type of site a bit more frequently, as people post new deals daily. You can spend a LOT of time sifting through the discussions. I have to limit my time and just look for stores in my area.


Where to find coupons. Despite what the extreme couponers will tell you, this MUST be done legitimately.

• Sunday newspaper. You can either pay for a home delivery subscription or pick up a paper each week. I waiting for a promotion to get a year's subscription of Sunday papers for $52. That's $1 per week. The newsstand price in our area is $2.25. Here's a forum discussion about the coupons included in each paper.
• Online coupons. The coupon companies (and some manufacturers) will allow you to print manufacturer coupons from your computer. Smart Source and Red Plum both have online coupons. You  may also find some manufacturers offer a coupon for their product if you sign up for their newsletters (you can unsubscribe later).
• Magazines. Check your magazines for ads with manufacturers coupons.
• Contact your favorite brands. Often times, when you let your favorite companies know how much you love their products, they like to send you coupons. I have found that this is not 100% true, but about 75% of my correspondence has resulted in a coupon. In addition, if you have a complaint, please be honest, specific, and respectful. This will help the company find and resolve the problem for future products.
• Catalina (Cat): This is the little coupon that sometimes get printed at checkout and the cashier hands you with your receipt. These can be pretty awesome (free stuff)! I found out from SouthernSavers today that the Catalina is not the actual coupon but the promotion for your next trip: "Buy X roll of brand Y toilet paper and get $2 off your next order." Many couponing websites have forums and discussions devoted solely to Catalina (cat) coupons.  
• Blinkies. This is the little machine on the shelves that doles out coupons. They usually have a red blinking light on the side. Even if you don't immediately need the coupon, it's a good idea to get one for future sales. These are usually a manufacturer coupon and can be used at any store that accepts a manufacturer's coupon.
• The Penguin! It took me ages to figure out what people were talking about, when they'd post "seeing THE penguin." I thought they all lost their minds. I do not know if they do this in all areas of the country, but there is a 4-5' cardboard Penguin display standing (usually) in the frozen section of the grocery store. They are loaded with coupons. One sidebar... Please leave some coupons for other people to enjoy the savings, too! If you don't think you're going to use all the coupons before they expire, please don't grab them all. Thanks!
• Coupon swaps. There is some discussion about whether or not to swap coupons or "pay" someone for the labor of cutting the coupons (e-bay). The coupons state that they can not be transferred or have monetary value, so I'm going to leave that to you to decide how to handle.

Terms and Acronyms. Yes, the couponing world uses lots of acronyms. I grew up in a household of a giant computer company that is an acronym and even had an internship with them, so I'm used to the world of acronyms and overly-complex jargon. So it's been fun to have my domestic life riddled with acronyms. I have collected a few of the most common terms and acronyms found on the couponing websites. This is not a complete list but some of the most common.

• Smart Source (SS). Coupon inserts found in newspapers. Couponers will refer to the company and the newspaper date. For exmple, "SS 9/25" refers to the Smart Source ads from the September 25th newspaper.
• Red Plum (RP). Another coupon insert found in newspapers.
• Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Coupon insert found in newspapers. They are typically included once a month, and the coupons are usually valid for one month.
• Internet Coupon (IP). These are manufacturer coupons that you can print from your personal computer. You may have to download a small amount of software from that company, but the website will prompt you through each step.
• Buy 1, Get 1 free (BOGO): Some stores in our area require that you buy 1 item at full price in order to get the free item. Other stores will charge you half-price for each item (and will allow you to buy just 1 item at half price). You will need to read your store's coupon policy to find out what coupons you can use on BOGO items.
• Manufacturer coupon (Mfr Q): The manufacturer provides the coupons, and your store will be reimbursed for the value of the coupon. This is why it is important to make sure your coupon matches your item. Otherwise, your store will not be reimbursed. We want our stores to stay in business.
• Store coupon (Store Q): Some stores will mail them, included them in the weekly flyer, or have a stack of them in the store. My local stores (in NC) don't always have them, so it's a super exciting day when I can get them!
• Out of pocket cost (OOP): How much you actually had to spend at the store. The forum-style couponing sites offer a great place for people to share their shopping success stories, and you will see this OOP acronym.
• Stack coupons: match a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon on the same item for extra savings. The easiest example is a Target coupon plus a manufacturer coupon.
• e-coupons from store: These are typically manufacturer coupons that can NOT be doubled or stacked with a paper manufacturer coupon. You either download them to your card online or at a kiosk in the store.
• Rewards cards: Be sure to find out if the store requires you to have a rewards card (almost always free) to take advantage of the promotional prices. 
• Expiration date: Take care to keep your coupons up-to-date, as it will save you the heartache of getting to checkout and not being able to use the coupon. Been there. Done that. You can send your expired coupons to servicemen and women overseas, as they can use expired coupons toward their purchases. There are several great programs that offer this service.

Coupon Policies. I can not stress enough how important it is for us to follow each store's coupon policies. If more people are not following them (can constitute fraud), the stores will be forced to reduce or remove their coupon acceptance policies. With that said, it is good to know the policies, so you will be able to maximize your savings and time (because time has value, too).

How to store and track your coupons. Storing your coupons is highly personal. Everyone has a different way that they categorize their coupons. The best advice I can give you is to start SIMPLE. Don't buy a massive binder right away. I am a big proponent of getting a quick return on my investment. If I have to put big $$ toward my couponing, it will take me a while to recoup my costs. Here are some suggestions from some friends and some of my own:

• Accordion file: I started with this. It works great, if you already know what's inside. Otherwise, it's no fun to stand in the aisle (with whiny kids) and sift through your coupons.
• Don't clip until you need it: This is the moto of CouponMom.com. She files her coupons by type (SS or RP) and by date. In my experience, I've missed some great unadvertised deals because I didn't have all my coupons with me. Then again, it will prevent you from overbuying, if you only have the coupons you NEED. Again, this is very personal.
• Binder with baseball card holders: While I do use this now, along with index dividers for each food section, I did not invest a lot of money. When I recycle my ink cartridges at my office supply store, I get $3 off coupons. I use these toward my baseball card holders and index dividers. Again, I wanted to save as much out-of-pocket.
• Picture album: My mom and a few friends keep a small 4x6 picture album for their coupons. Find one on clearance at drug store, if you want to give this one a try.

As I mentioned earlier, my post today is not an extensive list of all the couponing terms and policies. It is my hope that you can feel a bit more confident about starting.

Disclaimer: I have not been compensated for any of my writing. They are all my own. I do want to say that I have family in the grocery business (or who have been in the grocery business), so it is very important to me that we all use our coupons with honesty and integrity. I want our grocery stores to be successful and provide good service to all their customers. If we want to be treated with respect, as couponers, then we should respect our stores and their employees. If you think something was charged in error, definitely ask for some assistance. However, please be kind.

If you are new couponing, what seems to be the most daunting part of starting? If you are a pro, what other tips can you offer someone just getting started?

Staying Organized and Under Budget - At the Grocery Store

I don't know about you, but I've been guilty of the following budget-busting shopping techniques:

• Shop the aisles with an empty stomach
• Forgot to pack the snacks for the kiddos
• With a mind like this, who needs a shopping list?
• I just need a couple things from the store
• Oh, $2.00/lb is such a great price! This 15 lb bag will last me for a LONG time!

Going to the store without a plan or with an empty stomach equals sticker shock at the register. After having Regus #2 and transitioning to a one-income household (and facing all the debt we'd been stacking up), we realized that our shopping habits had to change. After sulking for several months about having a non-existent food budget, I finally got inspired to use one of my favorite software programs: Spreadsheets!! Oh, the power of data! Yes, I'm a nerd. In a world of diapers, spit up, and sleepless nights, mounds of data was something I could control.

As a little girl, I remember my mom making lots of food from scratch, organizing a health-food co-op, shopping sales, and clipping coupons. She was amazingly resourceful with the money she had for food. With that precious memory, I embarked on my own adventure of saving money for my household.

In this post, I'll cover the basics of how I use spreadsheets to develop my bi-weekly menu plan, enter my shopping list, and stay organized. In future posts, I'll go into more detail about shopping with kids and the benefits of buying in bulk — with a plan.

My plan works for me, so I don't want to say: My plan is BEST, so ha! You may dread making a shopping list, so jumping in full-steam-ahead may not be practical. I pray that this post will help get your creative juices flowing to find a fun, exciting way to make a planned shopping trip a fun one. Even better, I'd love for you to share some of your own ideas. I love to find out how other people stay organized and under-budget!

How I make it work

Before I start any shopping list, I refer to my list of my family's favorite meals. I've seen some people go even farther and list all the perishable and non-perishable items needed for each meal. I'm not that good. This list prevents me from getting in a rut of the same meal over and over. Believe me, hubby will let me know. I do like to try out new recipes, so I print those recipes off and keep them in a notebook. Every few weeks, I'll look through those to see if I can add one in the next shopping trip. I do not make a meal plan before I look at all the flyers. Every few months, I'll actually take inventory of my pantry, fridge, and freezer. I've found about 5 extra meals lurking, what a money saver! Back to the topic... I'll take a look at what I have, for reference. Then, I take a look at what's on sale. What can I make with this week's specials on meats and veggies? What can I stock up on for later?

As I see the items on sale, I start entering my meals on the top few rows of my spreadsheet. From there, I start adding items to my shopping list.

I'm using an Open Office spreadsheet. It functions the same as Excel, but you may notice a few differences.

The spreadsheet

For some, the idea of using a spreadsheet is crazy. For others, it may not be scary but odd to use it for household tasks. You don't have to go as geeky as I do. For example, when I told my Dad (super-fan of spreadsheets, too) that I used a spreadsheet to track my groceries and spending habits, he jokingly asked, "Yeah, but do you use pivot tables?" My response, "Yep! And I love it." If you take a few minutes to enter the department and store in your spreadsheet, you can do some basic sorting that will save you time and money in the store. This same additional data will give you some awesome pivot tables, too. You can track how much you are spending and study your trends.

Ok, enough nerdiness. I really think that a plan can help you save hundreds of dollars each month. If you are new to spreadsheets, I've found a series of You Tube video tutorials that do a great job of explaining the basics. Check out theese beginners and the calculations tutorials. They are EXCELLENT! If you want to go even further, there are other great tutorials for spreadsheets, by this same trainer.

Back to my spreadsheet. Here's my plan of attack:

Along the first row after my menus, I list the following column headers:

• Item. The name of the product.
• Qty. How many I need to buy.
• Kr. This is my "store special" column. In this case, Kroger had a promotion to get $5 off your order, if you purchase 10 of the promotional items. By re-entering the qty in this column (for the promotional items), I can add them up at the end of the spreadsheet and see how close I am to the goal of 10. So nice!
• Cost. This is the cost per item. We'll make a total later.
• Cpn. This stands for "coupon." I'll enter the coupon face value, if I have one available in my binder.
•  Dbl? If the coupon can be doubled, I'll enter a "2." If the store doesn't double coupons, then I just enter a "1." This is also great if a store is tripling coupons, then I'd enter a "3,"wohoo!
• Total. This is my formula!! We'll go more into that in a minute. 
• Department (dairy, deli, meat, produce, ingredients). Make this generic, because every store is laid out differently. 
• Store. Where I'm going to buy the item.

The last two categories (department and store) are helpful for sorting. That way, you can see everything you need from one store, even though you don't enter all those stores' items at the same time on your list. Yeah for spreadsheets!!

The formula

My "Total" formula essentially means: =(qty * cost)-(cpn*dbl?). However, I obviously enter the cell numbers, instead of the labels. The labels are just for reference. Once you make the first formula, just hover over the bottom-right corner of the cell until a solid, black cross shape appears. Click and drag that formula down to the end of your list. This will generate the "total" for all the items listed.

The grand total or TOTAL

This is a "sum" formula. You can highlight all the numbers in the "total" column and click the "auto sum button" (Σ). In my spreadsheet, the Grand Total is $162.24. Disregard the "Filter" stuff, that's a small pivot table.

Sorting columns

The secret to sorting in spreadsheets is to highlight the entire chart that needs to be sorted. When I was a Business Analyst at a major publishing company, I had people (who "said" they knew what they were doing and didn't want any help) try to highlight a specific column only and then sort. All I can say is, they had to waste an entire day getting the data back. Ugh... just save your time and highlight the entire chart. Here are the quick steps:

1. Highlight the table/chart (except for the menu plan). Be sure to include all the headers (ie, item, qty, kr, cost, etc)
2. From the top menu bar, click "Data," then "Sort.
3. After a pop-up box appears, select your search criteria. In our case, I've selected "Department" for the first one, then "Store" for the second. Then, click the "OK" button.

Highlight the data and sort each time you add something new to the list or change the store for an item.

Print your spreadsheet

You may need to do a little formatting to get the spreadsheet onto one page wide. I slip my shopping list behind the clear cover of my coupon book. After my zipper binder broke, I had to move to a regular binder. But I've really liked having the shopping list on the outside... so helpful!

Go shopping!

Now, you are ready to shop... with a plan! As you are shopping, the menu plan reminds you why you are there. The list and prices help you identify a good deal, if you find an unadvertised deal in a store. Plus, it helps me try to find a way to stay under my total.

Don't have a spreadsheet program? Don't worry...

There are a couple, free options for you. I use them both and find them very convenient.*

OpenOffice.org: I highly recommend downloading this suite of programs from Sun Microsystems. It's always free and works just as great as Microsoft Word and Excel. Sometimes, it can be a bit different than Word, but it's free. I've heard Clark Howard talk about it, too. 

GoogleDocs: You can sign up for a free Google account and have access to GoogleDocs. Here, you can create documents and spreadsheets and save them to Google. This is nice because you can keep it completely private, share with a few users, or make it public.

* Disclosure: I've not been paid or compensated in any way. These are my opinions.


What keeps you organized, when you go grocery shopping?

UPDATE (Dec 5, 2011): Here's a FREE download of a grocery shopping spreadsheet.