It hasn’t at all times been straightforward for Jinger Duggar Vuolo to speak about her upbringing as a part of the household that discovered fame on 19 Youngsters and Counting. It’s been “arduous and scary,” she’s stated, to debate the “disturbing” non secular surroundings Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar raised her and her quite a few siblings in. However there are elements of being a part of such a big household which are wild in different methods, and I’m speaking about that grocery invoice.
A part of what enthralled America to the Duggars was the sheer variety of mouths that wanted to be fed. Jinger Duggar Vuolo and her husband Jeremy tackled that very challenge on their podcast, rewatching a TLC particular from 2006 — 16 Kids & Shifting In, which got here two years earlier than the collection that may change into 19 Youngsters and Counting. The particular confirmed the household making their means throughout an Aldi in Arkansas earlier than hitting the checkout, with Jim Bob Duggar saying:
We’re at $677. We bought seven cartloads, which is a little bit underneath $100 a cart, in order that’s fairly good.
OK, whoa, let’s break this down. These two dad and mom introduced a minimum of a baseball workforce’s price of youngsters into the grocery retailer and crammed SEVEN carts. That will need to have been insanity. Then to spend $700 in a single journey is what Jinger Duggar known as “insane.”
Nonetheless, at lower than $100 a cart, I’ve to agree with Jim Bob right here, as a result of lately I’m discovering that only one cartload of meals can hit $300 simply. Thanks, inflation! Jeremy Vuolo addressed that precise level, saying:
Think about what these costs can be in the present day. I imply, he spent $700 for seven cartloads of meals. … That is bought to be $2,000.
That sounds extra like what you’d pay in a month for lease than what you’d spend on meals in per week! No surprise Jim Bob Duggar known as grocery purchasing a “main operation.”
Thank goodness it seemed like Michelle Duggar knew methods to stretch her greenback. She purchased in bulk, and Jinger recalled at all times being very frugal and never letting something go to waste. Her childhood consisted of a number of canned fruits, soups and bean burritos. Michelle listed off just a few objects on her grocery record in the course of the TLC particular, saying:
Most likely in the present day, we’ll purchase like 24 cans of milk, we’ll purchase a case of butter which in all probability may have 48 in a case, and we’ll refill with frozen burritos, as many as they have. We’ll refill the freezer and the pantry in the present day.
Jinger Duggar confirmed the household would “simply blow by” seven carts filled with meals, so I’m positive these wild outings to the grocery retailer have been simply a part of regular life for the Duggars.
It’s been 10 years since 19 Youngsters and Counting was canceled and 4 years for the reason that spinoff Counting On was axed by TLC. It doesn’t sound like Jinger has plans to return to actuality TV anytime quickly, however a minimum of we are able to nonetheless hear her speak about what life was like on The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast. You can too delve into the Duggars’ darker facet by streaming the docuseries Shiny Pleased Folks: Duggar Household Secrets and techniques with an Amazon Prime Video subscription.