Shopping list: know the total before the register

How it works

• My list: one line for each thing, with the price of one and how many. Each line is marked Need or Can wait. The page does not decide which is which. You do.
• A line can be added with no price. It stays on the list, and it is left out of the count until you give it one. The page says how many lines are not counted.
• The buttons with common names only fill the “What is it?” box. You can type any name.
• Money for this trip and sales tax are both optional. Press Keep these after typing them.
• At the store: tick a line when the thing is in the cart. The page shows what the cart comes to and, if you gave an amount for the trip, what is left of it. If a price on the shelf is different, press Change on the line in step 1.
• The count shows the totals, a bar that compares them with the money for the trip, and the sheet as it prints, with a box to tick beside each thing.
• Print or save as PDF opens your device’s print window. On most computers and phones that window has a choice named Save as PDF, or something close to it.
• Copy as text and Download (.txt) give plain text, for a message to the person who is doing the shopping.

How the page counts

• Each line is the price of one times how many. Then the lines are added.
• Sales tax, when you type one, is the sum times the percentage, divided by 100, and rounded to the cent. It is worked out on the whole list at once.
• The cart in step 2 is counted the same way, using only the lines you have ticked.
• On the bar, the tax is shared between Need and Can wait by their size, so the parts add up to the total.
• The same sums are printed at the bottom of the sheet.
• The page writes amounts with a dollar sign. The counting is the same in any money.

What this page can’t do

• It does not know any store’s prices. It knows only the prices you type, from a flyer, a receipt, the shelf or memory. The price at the register may differ.
• It does not tell you what to buy or what to leave, and it is not advice about money or food from a person trained to give it.
• It cannot know what is taxed. Some places tax some things and not others. If you type a tax, the page adds it to the whole list, so the real tax may be lower.
• It cannot know what a benefit card will pay for. Food benefits (SNAP) buy food only, so soap, diapers and medicine on the list need other money.
• It does not count things sold by weight unless you type the price you expect to pay for them, as one line with how many set to 1.
• It does not check your numbers, and it does not count deposits, bag fees or discounts unless you add them yourself.
• It holds one list, and the list does not move to another phone or computer by itself. Print it, download it, or use My data on this device to carry a backup across.
• It needs this page to be open. To use it in a store with no signal, save the tools on your phone first, or print the sheet.

If the list comes to more than you have

• A list that is over is a number, not a verdict on you. Many lists are over because what comes in is too little, not because of anything you did.
• Food help lists ways to find food today, food pantries and food benefits.
• Help with money lists benefits and help with energy and phone bills.
• Calling 211 reaches a local helpline in most of the U.S. that knows what help is near you.
• Money plan shows a whole month, and Bills shows one real month with its due dates.

These are everyday ideas in our own words. This page was not reviewed by a financial counselor.