I always hated grocery shopping for my family, and it became too expensive. Curbside pickup became my cost-saving answer.

• Grocery shopping with two kids was a stressful ordeal where I always spent more than I intended.
• Delivery apps were convenient at first, but the fees and markups quickly added up.
• Curbside pickup gives us control, convenience, and time back as a family.

When my husband and I had kids, grocery shopping became a nightmare.

I had to first rangle my two toddlers to get in the car and then basically drag them down grocery store aisles for 90 minutes — not to mention another 30 minutes of round-trip drive time plus the loading and unloading of kids and groceries. It felt like a half-day Olympic event.

Even once the kids were older and I could shop alone, I was still squeezing shopping in on crowded weekends. Full disclosure: I usually had to bribe myself with a Starbucks drink on the way home.

It wasn't always like this. Before we had kids, grocery shopping was simpler. I'd pick up whatever my husband and I felt like eating, and we ate out more often. But after we became parents, it meant planning meals, building a grocery list, and finding the time and energy to shop.

I typically just winged it — no plan, no list, no coupons — racing through the aisles and hoping I'd bought enough of the right things. Our grocery bill kept climbing, not because we were eating better, but because I was stressed and tired, filling the cart with last-minute choices: BOGO bagels, an expensive cut of meat I'd never find time to cook, and snacks the kids wouldn't touch because I got the wrong kind.

Recently, however, my family started using curbside pickup, and it has become a total game changer.

Delivery apps helped at first, but got too expensive

When the pandemic hit in 2020, delivery apps were a lifeline. Being able to order groceries on my phone and have them delivered to my door saved time and helped us avoid crowded stores.

But all of the added fees, service charges, and tips quickly made them unsustainable. We'd often pay $20 to $40 more than we would have in-store, and we still had to accept occasional (sometimes strange) substitutions or missed items.

We needed a better solution, and curbside pickup was it.

Curbside pickup is faster, cheaper, and shared

Now, instead of taking two to three hours a week, grocery shopping takes less than an hour, including placing the order, picking it up, and putting it away.

On the store's app, we start the grocery list early in the week, and it rarely takes more than 20 minutes to build. Everyone contributes, so it's not just my job to remember what we're out of or what the kids need for school lunches. I can easily check the fridge or pantry as I go, so we're far less likely to forget anything.

Most weeks, my husband picks up the groceries on his way home from work, which saves us from making a special trip. I love that it's become a shared responsibility. That shift alone has taken a huge weight off my shoulders and keeps the chore from snowballing into a weekend time suck.

We don't get every deal, but we still come out ahead

Shopping at multiple stores to chase every sale might save more money, but it costs something else — time. In this phase of our lives, that's just as valuable. The ability to reclaim a few extra hours each month, avoid weekend stress, and keep our evenings intact is worth it.

I used to love stumbling on a great BOGO deal or discovering a new product on an endcap. Now I'm more excited about having that time back to relax or spend with my family.

We still save in other ways: by sticking to our list, shopping store brands, searching for online deals, and applying digital coupons. But most importantly, since I'm not roaming aisles, I no longer impulse buy. I purchase exactly what we need when we need it, instead of buying something I just happened to see on the shelves.

I can also see my previous purchases in the app and repurchase items with a single click. For staples like milk, bread, and pasta, prices online are comparable to in-store and often cheaper, especially when I consider how much I used to overbuy because I didn't know what we needed.

Curbside pickup is a win for our budget — and our family

Curbside pickup has changed the way we shop for the better. It's more affordable than delivery, way less stressful than shopping in person, and it fits our busy lives.

We've cut down on unnecessary spending, made the task more collaborative, and gained back valuable hours in our week.

I still pop into the store for fresh bakery bread or a hard-to-find ingredient, but our days of doing the full shop in person are behind us. And I don't miss it at all.