This week’s meals, the shopping list they produce, and what it actually cost.
The meal plan and the food budget are usually two separate acts of optimism. Joining them is the whole trick: the list comes out of the plan, and the spend comes out of the list.
What is in it
- Plan the week, get the shopping list built for you
- Costs tracked per shop and per week
- A meal library so you are not inventing dinner every Sunday
- Budget against actual, without judgement
- Filled example plus a blank copy
Who it is for
Households trying to eat well and spend less at the same time.
How it works
Microsoft Excel 2016 or newer on Windows or Mac, and Google Sheets — upload the file and open it with Sheets, every formula works. LibreOffice too. No macros, no add-ons, no account to create and nothing to install.
The download is instant. Every workbook ships twice: one with a worked example already filled in so you can see what each column expects, and the same file completely blank for your own numbers. A plain-English Start Here guide comes with it as a PDF.
Sold through my Etsy shop, ThePlainLedger, so the download, the payment and the buyer protection are all handled by Etsy. I never ask for access to anything — no password, no manager invite, no app permissions. You download a file; that is the whole transaction.