New project added to collection - Grocery Shopping List Price Optimizer (Alpha Version)

I had enough of it. Remembering a bunch of prices in my head, trying to figure out what to buy where for my regular needs and in the end figuring out that buying a discounted item in one store was worse deal, as in other store the regular price was already lower.

Yeah yeah, why bother because of a few euros or dollars. Well, it does matter on the long run, and it is not just about money, but also about time, efficiency, and convenience.

Went to check Google Play Store. All apps are either basic shopping "notepad" style lists with checkboxes, a mashup of shopping lists based on recipe ingredients, or a min-max micromanagement brutal overkill control-all-your-money-flow budget managers. Absolutely nothing what I'm searching for.

So I decided to build my own app that will help me with that. You set up your own catalogue of grocery products, which one buys on regular basis (milk, eggs, cheese, etc., you get the idea) with prices for any store you want.

Then, based on your catalogue, you build your shopping list (only clicks required). The app will show the best shop deal for each item on the list, so it is easier to decide to which store to go. Of course, going just for one super deal item to one store that would save you 50 cents is not worth the time and gas, but if you have a list of 10 items, and 5 of them are better deal in one store, and 5 in another, it is good to know that before you go shopping.

And another good side: it is easier to decide when there is one of the best deals for stocking up. Of course, not suitable for vegetables and short-lasting products, but for hygiene products, canned food, frozen food, etc., is the best. It is good to know when there is a good deal for stocking up. You can buy more and save more.

Then in store, you stand in front of a Gauda cheese. It is discounted. What is already the price in that other store where I usually buy it? Bam. You open that app, input "cheese" into search field, press "search" button, and uala. That cheese is indeed cheaper there. You walk away happy that you processed that in 10 seconds instead of the usual 5 minutes, possibly still buying the more expensive option.

That's all it is to it. Simple stupid. But it works. Anybody who doesn't agree can write their complains on a 10€ bill and send it over to me.

It is still in alpha version, but it is functional and simple.

First "live testing" went well. I usually achieve around 10-15% of discounts. This time I've raised it to around 25%. I usually spend around 50€ on groceries per week. If I were to save 7€ per week, that would be 364€ per year. Not bad for a free app, right? Plus I spend less time figuring out whether to buy something right now, or just wait for the deal I'm waiting for.

That's all folks. Stay healthy and hydrated and stuff. Good thing that tap water is basically free, so I don't have to worry about that. Cheers!