Excel help

[OPBN]

I need help determining if such an Excel template exists. My issue is trying to track where my grocery expenses are going each month. Looking back at my grocery bill last month I was floored by how much I freaking spent considering 2 of my 3 kids were only here for two of the 4 weeks. What I am wanting is a template that will allow me to take a grocery bill, break it down into say 6-7 categories ( I.E.: Chips, Fresh Veggies, Fresh Fruit, Fresh Meat, Frozen meat, Lunch foods, etc.) Might be more than 6-7, but you get the idea. Then I want the template to add these costs up at the bottom/side or whatever. So basically, it would have the categories mentioned above, but would let me just add items from a receipt individually without having to go through and add them all up and enter them as one number. Each column would basically be a date/receipt date.

For the record, I am a total Excel noob. I have zero idea how to do something like this as my ex was always my IT person.

I did look through the Microsoft site to see if anything fit the bill, but didn't see really what I needed. I can obviously do it by hand, but figured it would be nice to have it on my computer to be able to look at.


Anyone?

[Swiss Cheeze]

I think that if you add your categories off to the left side from top to bottom and then at the bottom where you want your total to add up, you go to formulas, select autosum and then select the range of cells you want to add up. I used to know excel really good, but not anymore. I still have to mess around with it just to keep I guess brushed up on the simple stuff.

[OPBN]

Yeah. I'm sure its freaking simple, I just have little patience for stuff like this. Taking what you have, I need each of those to be "categories" that I can just keep adding into. So there would be a subtotal within the category as well as a total of all the categories for that receipt.

[Swiss Cheeze]

Well let's hope if it's simple that someone will pipe in that knows more than my basic stuff...lol. Oh yeah my simple is like kinder garden simple. I hardly ever use excel anymore because it gives me migraines.

[bbotts77]

It sounds like what you want to look into is pivot tables. They're fun if you like working with data. You'll want a main sheet containing a column for the item, one for the category, and one for the price. Then, build a pivot table from that sheet.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about it.

Here's a ridiculously long and boring tutorial on pivot tables.

[OPBN]

It sounds like what you want to look into is pivot tables. They're fun if you like working with data. You'll want a main sheet containing a column for the item, one for the category, and one for the price. Then, build a pivot table from that sheet.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about it.

Here's a ridiculously long and boring tutorial on pivot tables.

I think I may have kinda figured it out. Figuring out the "sum" function pretty much is what is needed it seems. Now that I get that, I think I might have it. Yeah, its that basic for me. lol.

[ScottyBeans]

I can throw a spreadsheet together for you real quick. PM me an email address and I'll send one over to you.