Here’s how to find out how much money you’ve spent on Amazon

From time to time, I get curious about how much money I’ve poured into Amazon over the years, but I’m always too lazy to backtrack through my purchase history and add everything together, which is a good thing, because I know it’s probably an embarrassingly large amount. Unfortunately, Business Insider has found a really simple method of finding out how much you’ve spent on Amazon, so laziness isn’t going to be enough to prevent me from finding out how much money I’ve wasted on knickknacks and niche kitchen tools that I never use. 

You can buy just about anything on Amazon, which means most of us spend a lot of money on the site. if you’ve ever wondered how much you’ve spent since opening your account, this video from Business Insider will show you how to find out. Amazon lets you review your spending over time, and the option goes all the way back to the first year you opened your account. While you can’t see the totals straight from your account, you can download a report and, with a little spreadsheet magic, see your grand total over the years. Business Insider walks you through the process in the above video, but it basically boils down to this: From your account, head to “Download Order Reports” under your order history. Select your start date as January 1st of the year you opened the account (the farthest the calendar will go back). Download the report, then import it into a spreadsheet. Under your last transaction, use the SUM function, then choose the entire column and press enter. It’s mostly just fun to see, but it also sheds some light on how much spending adds up over time. In general, the tool is an easy way to get reports on your purchases, which can be useful if you need to track expenses. Give it a try for yourself by checking out the above video.