For the last 5 summers my family has enjoyed a $700 pool from Costco. It's one of the best purchases we've ever made.

My husband has always joked about getting a pool someday, and while that's a lovely dream, I viewed it as just that.

However, during the early days of the pandemic everyone was buying pools of all varieties for at-home entertainment. We were a little late to the (pool) party, but we jumped on the bandwagon when I realized that at $700 (the price at the time when we bought it at Costco) for a medium-sized pool, an above-ground pool cost wouldn't break the bank.

Now, we consider it one of the best purchases we've ever made. This will be our fifth summer with the pool, and I've enjoyed watching my kids go from being held in the water to swimming mostly independently.

There was a learning curve our first summer

We had two friends help us with the initial setup of the pool since it was a little windy and we weren't sure how things would go. In retrospect, my husband and I could have set it up by ourselves, thought it was surely easier with extra hands.

I'll note that we were lucky in that we had a flat area in our backyard and didn't need to do extra ground preparation prior to the install. Setup took a less than three hours. We placed a tarp on top of the grass, with fanfold insulation on top for a cushy base layer, and then laid the pool down and connected all of the brace supports to it. Then it was time to fill it up. Honestly, putting a tarp over the top of the pool for the winter months is more difficult than the initial setup was.

It took under 3 hours for the author, her husband and two friends to set up the pool for the first time. Courtesy of Anne James.

The first summer, there was heavy smoke from wildfires near us, and since we were still learning how the pool worked, my husband was frequently cleaning it.

The following summers have been significantly easier, especially once we converted to a saltwater system (which we paid around $300 for). I wish we had bought the saltwater converter sooner. Now, maintenance is minimal. We vacuum the pool about once a week, and use the skimmer before hopping in to swim.

A home pool offers minimal-prep fun

Going to a local pool requires a bit more planning, especially with kids. Having one in our backyard allows our family to swim at any time without worrying about crowds or littles falling asleep in the car on the ride home. It's easy to grab a snack from inside and hop right back in the water. During my daughter's first summer, she was able to nap in the stroller right next to the pool while my son and I played.

We've hosted 4th of July parties with the pool, entertained friends and family, and I even hosted a book club in the pool once. But my favorite part is the moments with my children, watching their joy as they're splashing or jumping into the pool.

I also love having the ability to take a quick dip in the water after dinner or in late fall after public pools are closed — the pool is open when we want it to be, and we don't have to plan around crowds or other people.

Being able to play in the pool with my kids any time has made this a worthwhile investment for our family. Courtesy of Anne James.

We're able to practice swimming skills regularly

Both of my kids take swimming lessons, and when they were little, sometimes they would receive feedback to practice certain skills in the bathtub. But as they get older and are learning swim strokes, it's not a bathtub activity anymore. I enjoy being able to easily practice skills with them, like diving to retrieve a ring from the bottom of the pool, right in our own backyard.