Grocery Spend Log by Shop

Who this is for

Every grocery shop in the month, and where the money went. Each trip gets a line with the shop, the type of trip, what was charged and any loyalty or voucher saving. The summary gives the month's total, a weekly average, the cost per person and how it compares with your own weekly target.

Households trying to bring the food bill down, people who shop at several stores and want to see which one takes the most, and anyone whose top-up shops seem to cost as much as the big one.

What this helps you track

• Every grocery trip, by date and shop
• Main shops, top-ups, online orders and bulk buys, told apart
• What loyalty points and vouchers actually saved
• The month's spend by shop, week by week
• The weekly average and cost per person against your own target

How to use it

1. Write the household, the month, how many people it feeds, your own weekly target and the number of weeks the sheet covers.
2. Add a line for every trip or order: the date, the shop, the type of trip and the amount on the receipt before savings.
3. Enter any loyalty or voucher saving separately; the net paid column takes it off.
4. Tick Receipt when you have kept it, so returns and price checks are easy.
5. At the end of each week copy each shop's spend into the by-shop table; the browser and workbook do the totals.
6. Compare the weekly average with your target and use what the by-shop table shows to plan next month's shopping.

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

What weekly target should I use?

Your own. The sheet does not suggest one because it depends on your household, where you live and what you eat. Enter it in the header and the summary shows the difference.

Why enter weeks covered?

Months are not a whole number of weeks, so the sheet asks how many weeks you want to divide by. Four, five or a fraction all work; use the same figure each month so the averages compare.

Does this include household goods bought at the supermarket?

That is your decision. Some people keep cleaning products and toiletries in the grocery total, others split them out. Whichever you choose, keep to it month to month.

How do I fill the spend by shop table?

Once a week, add up the net paid for each shop and write it in that week's column. The total column adds across so you can see which shop takes most of the money.