Dad goes viral for showing what it costs to feed a family of 8

We all have to shop for groceries, which means we all know that prices have gone up in recent times. It seems like we all have to pinch our pennies and make every dollar count—whether that’s at the grocery store, the gas station, when buying clothes or school supplies, or anywhere else. Lots of things have gotten more expensive, and many families are having to adjust to make ends meet.

So when one dad took to social media to share his grocery receipt after shopping for his family of eight, it promptly went viral. He wanted to show what it’s like right now having to feed six kids, and spoiler alert: It’s expensive.

Sergio Gonzalez, who lives in Westlake Village, California, posted to Instagram to share his receipt from a weekly Trader Joe’s trip. The receipt was then reposted all over the internet, because people were shocked by it.

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A post shared by Sergio Gonzalez (@sergiogonzalez805)

“Here’s what it takes to feed six kids,” Gonzales said, narrating the video, which pans over the receipt, which is about a foot long. “About a week and a half. You want to have 6 kids? This is your Trader Joe’s receipt. It keeps going. Oh my God.”

The receipt shows a mix of different types of groceries, from produce to frozen veggies to ready-to-eat meals and even a frozen pizza. At the end, Gonzalez pauses on the total: $444.

In the comments, people had mixed opinions. Some acknowledge that yes, this is just what it takes to feed a family of eight, especially in a high cost of living area like California. Many criticized his decision to shop at Trader Joe’s instead of a lower-cost grocer like Costco or Walmart. Many even criticized the types of groceries Gonzalez bought, saying it would be cheaper to eschew the frozen and ready-to-eat meals and buy ingredients to cook with. Obviously, but as he clarified in the comments, he and his wife are busy running two businesses and raising six children, including two toddlers and an infant. We can forgive them for wanting an easy meal from time to time, y’all.

He also clarified that this Trader Joe’s trip was a supplemental haul, and that the family makes regular, larger shopping trips at places like Costco. In fact, in response to a ton of commenters asking for it, he posted his family’s Costco receipt as a follow-up.

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A post shared by Sergio Gonzalez (@sergiogonzalez805)

“So everybody wanted us to go to Costco and see what it’s like to feed six kids here at Costco,” he said, panning over an even longer receipt. “We just wrapped up. It keeps going…and going. And there’s the total.”

The Costco trip cost the family $1,239, and Gonzales said those groceries will last them around two weeks. To be fair, this family opts for organic produce and expensive cuts of meat, like short ribs and New York strip. But there’s also no way for filling eight mouths to be cheap—as anyone with kids knows all too well.