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A household is your shared space. Everyone in a household sees the same lists, meal plans, and budget.

1. To create: go to Settings → Households and tap Create.
2. To join: choose Join Household and enter the invite code you received.
3. Need the invite code? Ask the household owner to tap the invite icon (top right of List screen) or go to Settings → Members.
4. The code is a short alphanumeric string (like K1F0S573) and expires after a few minutes. They can regenerate it if needed.

Pro users can create or join multiple households and switch between them.

Your budget is the foundation. Define how much your household plans to spend each month.

1. Open the Budget tab.
2. Tap "Set budgets" to define spending limits for each category: Groceries, Household, Utilities, Internet, Phone, Rent/Mortgage, Insurance, and Other.
3. Choose your preferred currency.
4. As you shop and log receipts, spending updates automatically across all categories.
5. Use the bottom expense log to add expenses manually when needed.

Recipes are the starting point for meal planning. You can add them manually or let AI create them for you.

1. Open the Recipes tab.
2. To add manually: tap "New recipe" and fill in the name, ingredients, steps, and a photo.
3. To generate with AI: tap "Generate Recipe," type a dish name, set servings, max time, calorie targets, and dietary preferences, then tap Generate.
4. Review the generated recipe. Tap Save to keep it, Regenerate for a different version, or Cancel to discard.
5. Your saved recipes appear in the Recipes tab with photos and tags.

The Meals tab lets you schedule what to cook each day for up to 2 weeks ahead.

1. Open the Meals tab.
2. Tap a date to open that day's plan.
3. Add meals manually from your saved recipes, or use the AI planner with "Plan Meals" to generate balanced meals based on budget, diet, and cooking time.
4. Plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and supper for each household member.
5. Toggle between Household and Personal plans at the bottom.
6. Use "Favorites & templates" to save and reuse popular weekly plans.

Turn your weekly meal plan into a shopping list with one tap.

1. In the Meals tab, tap "Add week to grocery list."
2. CartWhiz creates a folder in the List tab for each recipe's ingredients.
3. Items are grouped by category (Produce, Dairy, Meat, etc.) using the filter chips at the top.
4. You can also tap "Generate grocery plan" for an AI-assisted shopping strategy.
5. Use "Repeat Last Week" to quickly rebuild a list from your previous plan.

Check off items as you shop, add receipts after each trip, and monitor your spending.

1. Open the List tab while shopping. Tap items to check them off.
2. After your trip, tap "Add receipt" to log the total you spent.
3. Switch to the Budget tab to see your monthly total, broken down by category.
4. The remaining budget prediction shows how much you have left for the rest of the month.
5. Use the month arrows to compare spending across different months.

Your grocery list is the command center for shopping.

• Categories: Select All or filter by specific grocery categories — Produce, Dairy, Meat, and more using the horizontal category chips.
• Items: View already added items and items still to add. Tap the + button to add new items.
• Folders: Create grouped lists of ingredients or groceries organized into folders by recipe or purpose. Use "+ New folder" to create custom groupings.
• Privacy: Set visibility per list — private (only you), visible to household members, or visible to another family/household where relevant.
• Receipts: Tap "Add receipt" to log purchases for already-purchased groceries.
• Budget tracking: Logged purchases update your current budget and help predict remaining budget for the rest of the month.
• Calendar: Optional grocery calendar support for at least weekly planning — see what's scheduled for each week.
• Repeat: Use "Repeat Last Week" to quickly reload your previous grocery plan.

Plan meals for each person in your household, including snacks, up to 2 weeks ahead.

• Week Summary: Shows the number of meals planned per day in an M–S grid.
• Meal types: Plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and supper for each day.
• Manual planning: Tap a date and add meals from your saved recipes.
• AI planning: Use "Plan Meals" to generate balanced meals via parameters — budget target, servings, calorie targets, diet preferences, max cooking time, and cuisine preferences.
• Generate grocery plan: AI-assisted planning based on your recipes and preferences.
• Add week to grocery list: Moves all planned meal ingredients to the List tab.
• Favorites & templates: Save popular weeks and reuse them.
• Household vs. Personal: Toggle at the bottom to plan shared or personal meals.

Your recipe collection — add, generate, tag, and manage all your dishes, including photos for already-planned meals.

• Generate Recipe: Tap the sparkle button and configure servings, max time, calorie targets, and dietary preferences. AI creates a full recipe with ingredients and steps.
• New Recipe: Add your own recipes manually with photos.
• Tags: Filter recipes by tags like Breakfast, Pasta, Quick, etc.
• Recipe cards: Each recipe shows a photo, name, servings, cost preference, and quick actions.
• Scale servings: Inside a recipe, adjust servings (2, 4, 6) and ingredient quantities update automatically.
• Photos: Choose from Library, Take Photo, or Refresh image to personalize each recipe.

Track all your household spending in one place with full per-category control.

• Monthly total: A donut chart showing your total spending for the selected month.
• Categories: Groceries, Household, Other, Internet, Utilities, Phone, Rent/Mortgage, Insurance — set up and control each one.
• Currency: Choose your preferred currency for all budget displays.
• Expense log: Add expenses manually in the bottom expense log section.
• Navigate months: Use the left/right arrows to view different months.
• Set budgets: Define limits for each category to stay on track.
• Predictions: See remaining budget predictions for the rest of the month based on current spending trends.

Personalize your CartWhiz experience with profile and display preferences.

• Profile: Set your first name, last name, optional nickname, and choose an avatar.
• Language: Select your preferred language.
• Timezone: Set your timezone for accurate meal planning times.
• Date format: Choose how dates are displayed throughout the app.
• First day of week: Set whether your week starts on Monday or Sunday.
• Appearance: Choose between System, Light, and Dark themes.
• Subscription: View and manage your Pro subscription.

Configure what notifications you receive and when.

• List updates: Get notified when items are added or checked off by household members.
• Budget alerts: Receive alerts when spending approaches or exceeds category limits.
• Meal reminders: Get reminders about planned meals and upcoming cooking tasks.
• Household activity: Stay informed about new members joining, chat messages, and shared updates.
• Customization: Toggle individual notification types on or off in Settings → Notifications.

Coordinate with your household in real time.

• Household Chat: A simple messaging space tied to your household.
• Use it for: substitution requests, "I'm at the store — need anything?" messages, meal plan discussions, and shopping confirmations.
• Access it from the Chat tab in the bottom navigation bar.

Everyone in a household shares the same grocery lists, meal plans, budget, and chat.

1. Tap the invite icon in the top right of the List screen, or go to Settings → Members.
2. You'll see an Invite Code (e.g., K1F0S573) with an expiration timer.
3. Share the code with the person you want to invite.
4. They open CartWhiz, choose Join Household, and enter the code.
5. If the code expired, tap "Regenerate code" to create a new one.

Manage your household's shared settings and preferences.

• Custom categories: Pro households can create custom grocery and budget categories beyond the defaults.
• Frequently used products: Save commonly purchased items as Pantry Staples for quick one-tap adding to your list.
• Household name: Rename your household at any time from Settings.
• Pro features: Upgrade to Pro to unlock advanced household controls, cross-household sharing, and custom categories.

Control who's in your household and manage their access.

• View members: See a list of all current household members in Settings → Members.
• Invite new members: Generate invite codes that expire after a few minutes for security.
• Remove members: Household owners can remove members if needed.
• Roles: Owners have full control over household settings and member management.
• Multiple households: Pro users can be part of multiple households and switch between them.

Understand what's shared and what's private in a household.

• Shared by default: Grocery lists, meal plans (Household mode), recipes, budget, receipts, and chat.
• Private: Lists or folders marked as private (only you) and Personal meal plans.
• Cross-household: Pro users can share select lists with another family or household.
• The "Online" indicator and member count in the List header show who's active right now.
• All changes sync in real time — when someone checks off an item, everyone sees it immediately.

If your data looks outdated or changes aren't appearing for other household members:

• Check your internet connection — toggle Wi-Fi or mobile data off and on.
• Wait 10–20 seconds for the real-time connection to reestablish.
• Force close CartWhiz and reopen it.
• Make sure you're viewing the correct household (check the household name at the top).

Items that should be on your list aren't showing up:

• Check your category filter — make sure "All" is selected, not a specific category.
• Check your folder filter — items may be inside a recipe folder you're not currently viewing.
• If you used "Add week to grocery list," make sure the meals were actually planned for the current week.
• Pull down to refresh the list.

If the app isn't responding or looks broken:

• Force close CartWhiz and reopen it.
• Make sure you're running the latest version from the App Store.
• Restart your device if the issue persists.
• Contact support at [email protected] with a screenshot, your device model, and iOS version.

If you purchased Pro but it's not showing as active:

1. Open Settings and find the Subscription section.
2. Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID you used for the original purchase.
3. Tap "Restore purchases" under Manage Subscription.
4. If it still doesn't restore, restart the app and try again.
5. Still stuck? Email [email protected] with your Apple ID email and a screenshot of your purchase receipt.