With grocery bills soaring each time, managing your budget seems like a full-time job. We are always on the lookout for the best deals, but supermarkets offer various discounts and promotions each week; it can be easy to miss the best deal. Your favorite cereal might be on discount in the shop, while the best meat offer is in another place—it can get really overwhelming to keep track of everything.
This is where WordLayouts’ Grocery List with Price Comparison template comes in. All you have to do is fill in some information about prices and the items you frequently buy, and the template will do the math to find the best bargain!
Ready to know more? Let’s dive in and see how this template works and simplifies your shopping experience.
How it Works
The template consists of four sheets: a Config sheet, Database, Grocery List, and finally, the Dashboard for an overview of price comparisons across various items and shops.
Once you have downloaded the template, the first step is to configure it.
Step 1: Set Up Things—the Config Sheet
In this sheet, you will fill in the background data, which the rest of the template pulls from.
As you can see above, the Config Sheet includes
- Categories: Group your groceries (like Meat, Drinks, Spices).
- Shop Names: Add the stores you usually buy from. These will show up in the drop-downs later.
- Units: Choose how you’ll measure things (grams, packs, liters, etc.).
- Item Names: Type in common items you buy often so they’re easy to select later.
Once you have added the information here, the template will automatically pull info from here.
Step 2: Add Info in Database Sheet
This sheet consists of information to help you do meaningful price comparisons across shops that you buy from.
This sheet consists of information to help you do meaningful price comparisons across shops that you buy from.
Basic info
At first, you’ll choose:
- The item name
- The category
- The unit
All of these fields come with drop-down menus that pull directly from the Config sheet. Essentially, you categorize each item and define its measurement unit.
Price section
Next to that, you’ll see space to enter prices for each item across your chosen stores.
- Pick the shop name from the drop-down list.
- Manually enter the price per unit.
If you want to start fresh, use the Reset Items and Reset Prices options given at the top of this sheet. Once you have reset the items or the prices, all item values and prices will be cleared. However, since the item values are linked to the Config sheet, they remain intact, and you can easily select them through the dropdown menu.
So, this means that even though you have cleared all entries, the template is still referencing the data validation rules connected to the Config sheet, and you do not need to retype anything. Only the prices need to be entered manually.
Step 3: Let the Template Compare Prices
Once you have entered the prices for each item in each store, the template automatically highlights the top three best-priced options for each item. It fills in:
- Best Value – the store offering the lowest price.
- Second Best – the next most affordable store.
- Third Best – the third most economical option.
This ranking is displayed clearly in the respective columns, so you can quickly spot where to buy which item from.
The template automatically displays the best price for each item and calculates the total savings you will make by purchasing from the cheapest shop.
Step 4: Build Your Shopping List
Now we come to the final part of the template and see how it helps you arrange your grocery shopping.
First,
- Choose items you want to buy using the drop-down menu.
- Manually add how much you want (quantity).
Once you have added this information, the template will automatically fill in the following fields
- The category
- The unit
- The best shop for each item
- The cost per unit
- And the total cost based on the quantity
At the top of this sheet, you will see the amount you would spend according to your list in the field Grocery List Total, and the amount you will save under Savings if you choose the best-price shops.
Once the list is ready, you can simply print it out, and your grocery list is ready!
When creating a new grocery list, you can clear all entries by clicking the Reset Grocery List tab located at the top of the sheet.
Step 5: View the Dashboard
Now you are ready to view the dashboard, which gives a visual overview of the entire grocery and price comparison template. By giving you a bird’s-eye view of your shopping data, the dashboard makes sure that you can easily spot patterns and makes your shopping trips more efficient and time-saving. By using pie charts for total savings and bar graphs for price comparison and distribution of grocery items, you can instantly see where your money is going.
You will find at the top of the dashboard:
- Comparison Date: Fill in the date manually.
- Best Value Total: This is the total amount you will spend if you buy each item from the store offering the best price
- Total Savings: This will be the savings you will make if you choose the cheapest options from each store.
- Best Store: This is the store that will give you the most savings based on your shopping list.
Next, we have a pie chart and some bar graphs to display information about prices and the best stores.
- Total Savings from Store (Pie Chart): Shows how much money you’re saving at each store. Bigger slices mean more savings from that store.
- Storewise Total vs. Storewise Savings (Bar Chart): For each store, you can see how much you would save if you bought the best-priced item in that store (shaded part). And the full bar shows your spending if you bought everything on your shopping list from that store.
- Store-wise Number of Items to Be Purchased: This shows how many items on your grocery list should be purchased from each store if you are going to buy the cheapest items.
- Category-wise Number of Items: This breaks down your shopping list into various categories such as spices, meat, household items, etc.
Whether you’re looking for savings, managing a large family, or in charge of a community kitchen, this editable template can help you compare prices, spot store discounts, and determine the best deals for each item. Its easy-to-use and straightforward layout will take the burden off your shoulders and help you stay organized and manage your budget without any stress.
Easily accessible in Excel, Google Sheets, and ODT formats, you simply have to download it in your preferred format and start planning your next grocery run!
Use this grocery list with price comparison template today to make smarter, budget-friendly purchases each time!