Daily Workflows
Shopping Planning & Budgeting
Use planned amounts, family currency, priorities, totals, and exports so your list helps before the trip starts, not only while you are already in the store.
Best for
Planned amounts are most useful when they represent real decisions, not guesses on every item.
Currency should be set at the family level so totals, PDFs, and everyday expectations stay aligned.
A good pre-store review keeps the list readable under pressure and reduces forgotten essentials.
In this guide
Section 01
When an item should have a planned amount
Not every item needs a price. Planned amounts help most when the cost affects whether the item gets bought, how many units you can afford, or whether you are comparing several stores or brands.
- Use amounts for items that materially affect the trip total.
- Skip or disable amounts for highly variable produce or items you are only price-checking loosely.
- Review planned amounts the day of the trip so old assumptions do not pollute the total.
Section 02
Quantities should reflect household reality
A list works best when the numbers reflect real context. Quantity without context is how households end up buying too little of the critical items and too much of the optional ones.
- Set quantities based on the actual week ahead, not an average week from memory.
- Increase quantities when guests, school events, travel, or bulk cooking will change demand.
- Keep item names and quantities readable enough that another person can finish the trip without texting for clarification.
Section 03
Use the family currency as the default planning language
Currency settings are not cosmetic. They make totals, printed PDFs, and shared expectations line up across the whole family. If the wrong currency is set, the list can still look structurally correct while giving the wrong planning signal.
- Set the family currency once in Settings and review it when your household context changes.
- Use one planning currency per family unless there is a very strong reason not to.
- Check the currency before exporting if a total looks surprisingly high or low.
Section 04
Review the list before exporting or printing
- 1Remove or archive stale items that should not be on the trip anymore.
- 2Check which planned amounts are enabled so the total reflects the current plan.
- 3Recheck high-priority items first because those are the ones you most need to get right.
- 4Export only after the list stops changing, even if that pause is brief.
Static vs live
A PDF is best when one person needs a stable handoff. If the list is still changing rapidly, stay in the live app view instead of exporting too early.
Section 05
What to review after the shopping trip
- Notice which items repeatedly need planned amounts because they drive the total meaningfully.
- Check whether high-priority items were still hard to spot during the trip.
- Use purchase history to improve the next list instead of rebuilding your planning logic from scratch every week.
Keep reading
These guides usually help next once you finish this one.
Shopping Lists
Plan shopping collaboratively, use optional prices and priorities, and understand totals, PDF export, and what belongs in the active list versus history.
Settings & Billing
Manage profile details, family preferences, shopping currency, subscription choices, and account-level actions such as logout or deletion.
Exports & Sharing
Use shopping PDFs and shareable notes properly, and know when a static handoff is better than the live app view.
Notifications & Mobile Use
Use Familiar well on phones and tablets, understand notification behavior, and get the most out of installable app and offline-friendly features.