Review and update your spreadsheet

Status labels that mean something

Four labels cover everything: active (still being considered), verified (checked within your review window), stale (older than the window), and retired (no longer a candidate). The precise names matter less than the discipline of applying them from the date in the row.

A row without a date cannot be verified or stale, so it defaults to stale. That single rule prevents most of the quiet inaccuracy in a long-running list.

The review checklist

• Open every product source link and confirm it still resolves to the same item.
• Re-read the price and note the new figure in a new dated column.
• Re-check size and measurement fields where the listing changed.
• Confirm offer conditions and expiry, or mark the coupon withdrawn.
• Update delivery estimates that were based on an old basket.
• Move anything resolved into retired rather than deleting it.

Keeping history without clutter

Keep one working view with active and verified rows only, and one full history sheet with everything, including retired rows and superseded prices. That pair gives you a clean budget and a complete record, which is exactly what a comparison needs: clean input, auditable past.

Never reuse a row for a different product. Reusing a row is how a note about a bag ends up attached to a coat.

Choosing a rhythm

Pick a window that matches how fast your lists change — weekly while actively comparing, monthly once a shortlist settles. Before any purchase, run the checklist once more regardless of the date, because a budget assembled over three weeks contains three different snapshots.

Then rebuild the total properly: re-read the comparison fields, recheck the split in separating your budget, and confirm tracking entries in the parcel timeline. When it is clean, go back to the hipobuy spreadsheet home page and re-enter the current figures in the budget tool.