Staying on budget with NoshUp

One big grocery shop, a midweek milk run, snacks for the weekend. It is easy to lose track of what they add up to.

NoshUp's Budget page brings your recorded grocery spending together so you can see how much room you have before your next shop. Your receipts show what you spent. Your meal plan helps you decide what you still need.

This month

This month adds up your household's receipt totals from the start of the current calendar month through today. The dates shown below the heading tell you which period you are looking at.

Receipts count once NoshUp has finished reading them, or when you enter them by hand. Receipts still being read, or ones that could not be read, do not count yet. A shopping trip you have not recorded will not appear in the total.

The purchase date normally decides which month a receipt belongs to. If that date is missing or more than two years old, NoshUp uses the date you added the receipt instead.

• Watch the bar and the dollar amounts. The bar turns amber when the displayed percentage reaches 80%, and red at 100%. The percentage stops at 100%, even if you spend more. Compare the dollar amount with your target to see how far over you are.
• Think about how much of the month is left. Spending most of your target in the first week deserves a closer look than spending it near the end. The bar shows how much of your target you have used, not whether that pace will keep you within your target for the month.

Target

1. Open Budget and look at This month.
2. Choose Target, enter your monthly grocery budget in Canadian dollars, and choose Save.
3. Compare the spending amount with your target before your next shop.

You can change the target as your family's needs change. To remove it, leave the amount blank and choose Save. You can still track spending without a target.

By category

By category groups receipt items by grocery category, with the highest-spending categories first. Start with the biggest to help you decide where to cut back next time.

Category totals use individual item prices, while This month uses whole receipt totals. The category totals may not add up to the This month total.

Planning your next shop

Your meal plan is what you intend to cook, not a record of money already spent. The grocery list helps you see what you need to buy for those meals and may show an estimated cost.

Planning meals or building a grocery list does not count as money spent. Any estimated costs stay separate from your This month total. The Budget page does not show a side-by-side comparison with your meal plan.

Before shopping, compare what is left of your monthly target with the groceries you still need. For example, if your target is $800 and your recorded spending is $600, you have $200 left. If you still have two shops to do this month, think about what that $200 needs to cover before choosing meals and checking your next grocery list.

Treat the list's estimate as a guide, not a promise of the checkout total. Your receipt tells you what the shop actually cost.

Spending history

You may see a preview of recent monthly totals. The fuller spending tools for Pro are still coming soon. You do not need them to use the monthly total, target, and categories today.

Recent receipts

After a shop, open Receipts to add your receipt and check the purchase details, date, and total. Recent receipts on Budget shows five recent receipts and whether they have been read. Choose one or View all to open Receipts. Those five are a shortcut, not the limit on what counts towards your monthly spending.

Check your receipts before changing your plans. Add any missing shopping trips and review totals that look wrong. A receipt that could not be read will not count yet, so do not mistake a low total for money you still have available.

Before planning the next week's meals, open Budget, check what is left of your target, and look for one adjustment that would help: use food you already have, choose a less expensive meal, or check Deals for something on your list.

The goal is not a perfect spreadsheet. It is knowing where you stand before you fill the next cart.