Life Talk

Inspired by NPR's list: how I track my own 'basket' to see price swings

The NPR piece in the GONOM grocery post picked five everyday items and explained what's behind each one's price swing. I've been doing a home version of that for a while, and it's oddly satisfying, so here's how.

Pick 8-10 items you buy every week. Mine: eggs, milk, bread, ground beef, butter, coffee, bananas, rice, cheddar, a box of cereal.

Same store, same size, same brand. Otherwise you're tracking your own choices, not prices.

Snap the receipt. I type the prices into a spreadsheet on Sunday. Five minutes.

Look at it monthly, not weekly. Weekly is noise. Monthly shows you which items are product-specific jumpers (for me, eggs and beef) and which ones creep up together.

After a year you'll know your own grocery inflation better than any headline. And as the BBC side of the story points out, track your fuel too if you drive to shop.