Grocery Shopping Tips For Our Family Of 4

I know that I’m not the only one who has noticed an increase in the prices of groceries so I thought that I would share some grocery shopping tips for our family of 4.

After giving birth to my second daughter in 2021, we officially became a family of 4.

Last year, I shared our laundry routine and in that post, I talked about how much more laundry it felt like I was doing since my second child came along.

• Read More: Laundry Routine For Our Family Of 4

I feel the exact same way about groceries with our family of 4.

Especially when my younger daughter started eating more solids and regular food.

Like most babies, my younger daughter started eating baby food and then quickly transitioned to wanting our food on our plates.

By the time she turned 1, my youngest started refusing baby pouches and only wanted the food that we were eating.

Which meant that we had to start accounting for her as well.

And now with the inflation of grocery prices, we have to be mindful of our spending and budget accordingly.

In our household, I’m in charge of the majority of our grocery budget and handle the majority of our grocery shopping.

When our oldest daughter started eating regular food a couple of years ago, I really took it upon myself to create a grocery budget and designate times when I would go grocery shopping so I wasn’t going every day.

Because that’s literally what it felt like.

I feel like I have gotten a pretty good system down that really maximizes our spending and keeps food for our family around much longer.

And of course, I want to share what I do with you all.

Here, I will be sharing some grocery shopping tips for our family of 4.

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Where Should You Grocery Shop For A Family Of 4?

Before I dive into our grocery shopping tips, let’s talk about this.

Where should you grocery shop for a family of 4?

I feel like this depends on the family.

Some families may think that shopping at Walmart or Target is enough for their families.

While others may think that shopping at places where you can in bulk such as Sam’s Club or Costco is better.

And then there are other options that people like to shop at, such as Kroger, Aldi, and Whole Foods.

It just really depends on the needs of your family.

If you are new here, I have a 4-year-old and a 20-month-old, so I have little kids.

If I had more children or even older children who are eating a lot more, I would consider shopping at Sam’s or Costco for bulk items.

But I find that we don’t necessarily have to buy in bulk quite yet.

We could definitely bulk up on some items that we consume a lot of but I much rather have less than more in case we don’t get to use some of these items in time before they expire.

Not to mention, we would also need the room to store these items.

For instance, we don’t own a deep freezer so we wouldn’t be able to bulk up on frozen items outside of what will fit in our freezer in the refrigerator.

I do buy some things bigger or in larger quantities such as gallons of juice/milk instead of half gallons or 18-count eggs instead of a 12-count.

But I can get away with doing that at either Walmart or Kroger which is where I do the majority of our grocery shopping for our family.

I do also shop at Target, but I mostly go there for our laundry and cleaning products as well as their baby products.

Now that we have an idea of where you can shop for your family, let’s get into the grocery shopping tips I use for our family of 4.

Grocery Shopping Tips For Our Family Of 4

Create A Budget

My very first tip for grocery shopping for our family is to create a budget.

Before I had children, I never once thought about a budget.

I just went to the store when I ran out of food and got what I needed.

I usually never spent over $50 a trip so if my grocery total started going too far over that amount then, I started putting stuff back.

And depending on what I was getting, I maybe only be able to get 15 or 20 items because as most of us know, $50 doesn’t get you much at Walmart outside of your necessities.

Because I was only getting a few items per visit, I was probably going to the grocery store much more which meant that I was probably overspending when I really think about it.

Well, I had a mindset shift after having kids.

I created a biweekly budget that I broke down by the number of people in our home while also accounting for any “Just In Case” funds if we may need to spend more during that period.

Our budget breakdown is as follows:

• Per Adult: $50 biweekly
• Per Child: $25 biweekly
• Just In Case Funds: $25 biweekly

So based on our budget, I budget for $175 biweekly which comes out to $350 a month for our family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children).

Having a budget has been super helpful for our family and creates a great guideline for me to follow when I’m grocery shopping.

Make A List

While on the topic of guidelines, you need a list when you are grocery shopping.

This may sound like common sense but you would be surprised.

Unless you are going into a store to get 1 or 2 items, then you need to have a list.

Because I can guarantee you that you will forget something.

Or worse, just grabbing random items that you may not even need

I am really guilty of forgetting something if I don’t a have list.

I have done this so many times and then either later that day or the next day, I’m mentally kicking myself for forgetting to get that item.

There have even been times when I have made a list and still forgot to add something to the list to get while I’m at the store.

Which is another tip.

The moment that you realize that you have run out of or are getting low on something, make sure to add it to your list right then so you don’t forget to add it later.

So do yourself a favor and make a list before you go grocery shopping.

Utilize Online Grocery Pick Up/Delivery For Larger Grocery Orders

Along with making a budget after having kids, something else that I started doing after having kids is using the online grocery pick-up option.

And it was a complete game changer.

When my oldest daughter was much younger and still in an infant car seat, I used to have to bring the car seat in with me to the store.

Of course, I’m not going to carry around her car seat while I’m grocery shopping so I would put it in the shopping cart.

Which would wind up taking up most of the room in the cart so I was left trying to stuff things around her car seat or under the cart.

Not to mention if the trip was taking a little longer, she would start getting restless and fussy.

I just found longer grocery shopping trips with her really tiring and ineffective.

When I discovered the online grocery pick-up option at Walmart, I never did the majority of grocery shopping in the store again.

Every two weeks, I create a big Walmart online grocery order with all of our necessities that fit within the budget I stated earlier.

This actually makes online grocery shopping really effective because you are able to see your total as you add items to your cart.

So if you have a budget, you are able to stay within that budget because you are in control of what you are adding to your cart.

When it’s time to go pick up your groceries, all you do is pull into a designated spot and the store will load up your car while you and your children just hang out in the car.

No getting out.

No carrying around a large car seat.

And no worrying about a meltdown in the store.

Grocery pick-up is truly a win-win.

Take Advantage Of Weekly Deals/Specials

Along with the two large grocery pick-up orders a month, something I do weekly is to take advantage of weekly deals and specials.

A lot of grocery stores send out weekly sales ads in which certain foods and products will be on sale.

This is when I like to bulk up on some of the foods that we consume a lot of as well as grab a few other things for the house.

When I am making our larger biweekly pick-up orders, I try to keep them between $100 and $125.

So that way, I have around $50 to $75 to play with for some of the weekly sale items.

The stores that I like to go to weekly are Target and Kroger for their deals.

I will check my Target app on my phone for any specials they have that week and try to take advantage of those.

I mentioned above that I like to get the majority of my baby and cleaning products because they have really good deals and offers on those items.

And if you have a Target card, you get an additional 5% off.

I know that it is not much but I will take it.

Kroger also sends out a weekly ad with weekly deals on groceries that are anywhere between 10% and 40% off certain foods and items.

This is where I like to bulk up and grab extra groceries outside of our larger pick-up orders for the house.

Something else that Kroger offers is fuel points with purchases, so when you are shopping there, you are getting fuel points that can be applied towards receiving money off your gas at their gas stations.

And we all can benefit from cheaper gas.

If you shop on certain days, you can even get 4 times the fuel points which is even more money off.

One time, I was able to get 40 cents off per gallon because I racked up so many fuel points.

So take advantage of those weekly deals and offers to really stock up for your family.

Have Entertainment Ready For Smaller Children

And my last tip for grocery shopping for our family of 4 is to have entertainment ready for smaller children.

As I mentioned above, I do have 2 smaller children.

Even though I utilize the online grocery pick-up option for our larger orders, I do go into the stores when I’m grabbing some of those weekly deals.

This means that I have to bring my kiddos in with me if I have them while I’m out and about.

According to Super Kids Nutrition, it is encouraged and beneficial for children to go grocery shopping with their parents from time to time.

It presents so many learning opportunities and gives them practice on how to behave in public settings.

My older daughter is at preschool during the day so I don’t usually have her with me when I’m grocery shopping during the week.

And even during the random times that I have had her with me, she does pretty well and even helps with picking out the groceries.

On the other hand, my 1-year-old is not in daycare which means that she is with me the majority of the time when I’m out grocery shopping.

Like most toddlers, my younger daughter is busy and wants to get into everything.

She is also in that stage where she wants to get involved in the grocery shopping process from grabbing items off the shelves and scanning them at checkout.

I do my best to let her help but there are also times when it is just easier and quicker for me to do it.

Of course, there are times when she gets upset about not getting help or even wanting to get out of the shopping cart which usually leads to a meltdown.

So the way that I stay ready for a possible meltdown is to have entertainment handy.

This can be in the form of a tablet or heading to the toy aisle to grab a small toy that she can play with while I’m shopping around.

Most of the time, my daughter does just fine so I don’t have to worry about keeping her occupied, but she definitely has her moments so I like to be prepared.

Your Turn

Well, those are my grocery shopping tips for our family of 4. I want to hear from you all now. What are some of your grocery shopping tips that you use for your family that save you money and maximize your groceries in your home? I would love to hear from you in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Curly Hair Care Routine For My Black 1-Year-Old Toddler

Love,

Just Jass