Family Days Out Log and Cost Sheet

Who this is for

A year of days out, costed. Log each trip with what you paid to get in, to get there and to eat, and the sheet totals the day, works out the cost per person and keeps the children's verdict next to the adults'.

Families who go out most weekends or holidays and want to know what it really costs, and parents looking for the places worth going back to.

What this helps you track

• Where the family went, when and what kind of day out it was
• Entry, travel and food costs for each trip, and the total
• The cost per person, using your own family size
• What the children and the adults each thought of it
• Spend by month, and the places you would go back to

How to use it

1. Write the year, how many people usually go and any annual passes or memberships you hold.
2. After each day out, add a line with the date, the place, the type of trip and the three costs.
3. Score the day from the children and the adults on whatever scale you agree, and tick would go again if it earned it.
4. Trip totals and cost per person are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add across each line.
5. At the end of each month, write the number of trips and the month's spend in the monthly table.
6. Before planning the next outing, look down the would go again column and the costs against your passes.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where do places I want to visit go?

Add them as lines with no date or costs and the word idea in the notes, or keep them in the notes area. When you go, fill the line in as usual.

How is cost per person worked out?

The trip total is divided by the family size in the header. If a different number of people went on a particular day, note it; the workbook formula can be changed for that row.

Can I see spend by type of trip?

In the workbook, filter the type column to see only farms, museums or any other type, and the totals row adds up the visible trips. On paper, use a highlighter per type.

How do I judge whether a pass is paying for itself?

Log visits covered by the pass with the entry you would have paid written in the notes and zero in the entry column. Over the year that shows what the pass saved against what it cost you.