# The Handy Adder (grocery shopping helper)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 18, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216 "2023-07-18T15:00:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 20

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/20 "2023-07-18T18:41:57Z")

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> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> Were these ubiquitous in the 70s and 80s or was it just for people like my mom who had a very set budget?

I remember playing with one, but I don’t remember whether it actually got used “for real.” I don’t remember the make or model, but I distinctly remember it being red, as in the picture I linked to here:

> [@Without saying your age, what's something from your childhood that a younger person wouldn't understand?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/802):
>
> I don’t recognize what you’re describing; but I do remember the plastic clicker devices that you could take to the store with you to keep track of how much $ worth of merchandise you were buying. [[image] ](http://image.timepassagesnostalgia.com/watermarked/imagesl0/l029adderx3.jpg)

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