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Turn a meal plan into a priced grocery list

Practice: Showing an example of what you want. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You planned this week's dinners and want a grocery list priced from the store flyer, to check against your $40 budget. Make one numbered line per item you need to buy (combine repeats across meals, skip what you already have), each showing the math in the same shape, like "1. Eggs, 1 dozen: 1 x $3.29 = $3.29". End with a Total line that says whether you're under the $40 budget and by how much. Under 100 words, plain text. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not showing the line you want. The AI picks its own layout, often a table or a list grouped by aisle with no math, and you can't check the total. Try: Show one line: "Format each item like: 1. Eggs, 1 dozen: 1 x $3.29 = $3.29".
  • Missing the price correction. The AI reads the flyer price first and uses it, skipping the store's correction below. Try: Add: "Use the store's correction for ground beef, not the flyer price."
  • Forgetting the pantry. The AI lists every ingredient in the meal plan, including the cheese and pasta you already have. Try: Add: "Skip anything already in the pantry. Combine the beef from both meals into one line."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 100 words" and it often adds notes and tips that push it over. Try: Cap each part: "each line under 12 words, nothing after the Total line."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Shows an example line
  • Skips what you already have
  • Uses the price correction
  • Ends with the budget check
  • Asks for plain text

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