A Dad’s Viral Trader Joe’s Grocery Receipt Highlights The Hard Reality For Big Families
Many people in the comments could relate.
Every week, I am still flabbergasted when I see the total amount spent on groceries for a family of three. We’re one of the smallest sets of nuclear families, and yes, we’re still shelling out hundreds a month.
I’ve compared prices between Walmart, Target, Amazon Fresh, local grocery stores, and more, but they all kind of wind up being the same bit of awful compared to a few years ago. And apparently, I am not alone.
A California family’s Trader Joe’s grocery receipt recently went viral on social media, sparking a debate about which grocery stores are affordable for families, especially big families.
In the video posted to Instagram, a father of six pans across a massive Trader Joe’s receipt from a location in West Lake Village, an affluent city in Los Angeles County.
Sergio Gonzalez, the owner of the grocery bill, confirmed to Parents that the $444 cost is pretty normal for his family.
“Prices have been increasing since 2020,” he told Parents.
He’s not wrong. A May 2024 USDA report claims that food prices have skyrocketed since the pandemic began, with many items still on the rise four years later.
While Gonzalez may have posted the costly grocery receipt to bring awareness to just how wild prices have gotten for families with kids, some commenters were judgmental of his choice to have such a large family in the first place.
“You should be shopping at Costco for 6 kids. Trader Joe’s packages are too small,” one user wrote.
“First mistake is having 6 kids,” another wrote.
Another wrote that Trader Joe’s is not a grocery store meant for big shopping trips.
“Trader Joe’s is not meant to be a full-time usage. Trader Joe’s is just a simple grabbing go store that is in the gas station but still not a full-on grocery store. I don’t understand why you would be paying 400 and something dollars,” they questioned.
“Take them to Walmart or something,” another person suggested.
Gonzalez said the reaction to his viral receipt was eye-opening.
“It’s interesting to see everyone’s reaction,” adding, “[It] exposes many people’s beliefs around family, money, and politics.”
When asked why he decided to post the grocery receipt in the first place, Gonzalez said it wasn’t his way of complaining about large family life, but just showing the reality of what it can be like.
“We need a bigger vehicle than the average family,” he noted. “We need two rooms when we stay at hotels. [I’m] just sharing our story.”
Listen, it’s rough out there. So, gone are the days of buying three types of cereal because the kids couldn’t agree on one. Forget about that special ice cream or bag of chips you’ve been wanting to try. It’s brass tacks over here. It’s bare essentials. And when you have six kids to feed, the brass tracks might just cost you $400!
