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Free 2012 Grocery and Coupon Savings Spreadsheet

One very important part of couponing is tracking how much you are spending and saving. Hopefully you have a general idea of how much you spent on groceries pre-couponing, but even if you don’t, tracking your spending can be extremely beneficial. Right now is always the best time to start keeping track!

I have created this awesome and SIMPLE spreadsheet to use to track your grocery spending and savings! All you have to enter is how much you spend and save each week (most stores will calculate your savings for you at the bottom of the receipt!) and the spreadsheet will calculate the percentages for you!

How to use the Grocery Savings Spreadsheet:

First of all, in order to be able to use the spreadsheet, you need to download it to your computer or save to your Google Docs account.

Save to your computer:

1.  Open the spreadsheet in Google Docs

2.  Click on “File”

3.  Go to “Download As”

4.  Choose the program you would like to download it to.

Save to your Google Docs account: (I personally like Google Docs because I don’t have to worry about losing my data if my computer crashes.)

1.  Sign in to Google Docs (it is very easy to register)

2.  Open the spreadsheet in Google Docs

3.  Click on “File”

4.  Click on “Make a Copy” (this is a VERY important step)

5.  Name and Save it

Now that you have your copy of the spreadsheet, here is how you use it.

You need to save your receipts every time you buy groceries. Either input them in the spreadsheet as soon as you get home, or put them somewhere you will remember and input them at the end of the week.

The only fields you need to fill out are the light green shaded boxes. That’s it!! Everything else is automatically calculated for you. At the top in the yellow fields you can see your average weekly spending as well as your year to date (YTD) totals. This spreadsheet is made for 2012, but it is easy to update it for next year. Just create a new copy and update the week ending dates. I also hope to have a new version prepared every year.

Week Ending – Each row should include the totals for all purchases prior to and including the date entered. So, for the week ending 1/7, include all totals from 1/1 through 1/7 (Sunday – Saturday).

Spending – Input the total spent on groceries. You need to define this for yourself. For me, that includes all food, toiletries, paper goods, pet food, diapers, etc.

Savings – Input how much you saved. You need to define this for yourself as well. Will it include all savings or just coupon savings? I include all savings: coupons, sales, and clearance. Most stores calculate your savings for you and include it at the bottom of the receipt.

Stores – Input the stores you visited. This field is not necessary to fill out, but it can be helpful. I like to include this to see which stores I tend to spend more at or get the most savings from.

This spreadsheet is very simple.  You really only have to fill in the spending and savings fields and everything else is done for you!  Now you can have visual evidence of how much you are truly spending and saving.

I truly hope some of you will be able to benefit from this spreadsheet!  I know spreadsheets can seem daunting to some, but don’t be afraid! Inputting your totals will become habit after a while. I’ve been using this spreadsheet for years and I love looking back and seeing all my savings.

Do you track your grocery spending and savings?

    26 Comments

  1. i tried to add this to my google docs and it wont let me. It says view only. I got last years and wanted this years and it wont let me. Help?

    Reply

  2. Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!! I needed this so badly! I googled ‘grocery savings spreadsheet’ and yours was the one that came up. SO glad I found it! I will be sharing this and linking my friends back to you! It’s a lifesaver! YOU’RE a lifesaver! 🙂

    Reply

  3. This is a wonderful spreadsheet. I shop weekly at Walmart and price match the ads for great deals. I do quite well at it, however on the receipt it does not show my savings. So using the spreadsheet does not accurately reflect my overall savings. Any ideas?

    Reply

    • For things like that, I either guess on the savings as closely as I can, or just forfeit the unknown savings. You could make a note in the store section saying you price matched so you’ll know.

      Reply

  4. This was very helpful. I think that using the stores column is very helpful since it can also help you to keep track of the type of items that you purchase depending on the store that you visited. I may add another column for this in the future, but right now this is working fine for me. Thanks for posting this. I really appreciate it.

    Reply

  5. Thanks a bunch Stephanie! Just wondering, how do you track the cost to buy coupons (newspapers, All You, coupon clippers, etc…) would you personally put it in the Spent column or would you create a separate line item for this to deduct it from savings. I’m thinking it wouldn’t matter if a new column was created or if it was just put in the Spent column but I’m not certain… Thoughts?

    Reply

    • I include it in the spending since I usually buy newspapers along with other groceries anyway. But a separate column to track newspaper/magazine spending might be a good idea!

      Reply

  6. When you enter the total that you spent for each shopping trip do you add it to the previous total or is there a way to enter it separately and it be added up automatically? Example: I shopped at Dollar General and spent $27.64 and then went to Food Lion and spent $19.47 so do I need to add the totals together and then enter them or can I enter them separately and if so how do I do this? Thanks so much for the help!

    Reply

    • I add them up together and then enter them. So if I shop at CVS on Monday and spend $5, I’ll come home and enter $5. Then if I shop at Target on Friday and spend $45, I’ll come home, add $5 + $45 and then replace $5 with $50 in the spreadsheet.

      Reply

  7. Thank you. My husband and I are trying to save so I can continue to be a SAHM/W and yet provide for our family. This spreadsheet will be so helpful! Again, Thank you.

    Reply

  8. Thanks for posting this again, I do currently use this spreadsheet. I have been using for most of this year, its great & its very easy to use. Again thanks for sharing this spreadsheet with us.

    Reply

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