Ali and Charlie Higgins are unwilling to give up the financial independence they have built over years to have a child.
Ali, 33, is a recruiter for Uber, while Charlie, 37, works for a technology company.
The couple moved to Amsterdam from the United States for work four years ago and have a combined household income of €310,000 (£270,408).
“Over the last few years, we have created a lifestyle we enjoy,” says Ali.
“We watched as all our friends had children and how their lives changed. They would tell us they spent thousands of rupees every month on their children’s school fees, and Charlie and I would look at each other in horror.”
The pair are part of a growing group of so-called “Dinks”, meaning Double income, no children.
While the term was first coined in the US in the 1980s, its popularity has increased on social media in recent years, with couples posting online about how their disposable income allows them to prioritize Negronis over nappies and lavish vacations over childcare fees.
However, lifestyle trends are rooted in real concerns The rising costs of raising children Today in Britain.
According to the charity Child Poverty Action Group, in 2025, the cost of raising a child up to 18 was £250,000 for a couple and £290,000 for a lone parent.
“If we were millionaires we’d consider having kids and I could hire a nanny to come on holidays, a weekly cleaning lady and a chef to cook our meals,” says Ali.
Instead of spending on the children, the couple spend on vacations and caring for their two dogs.
Amsterdam-based couple say kids would mean abandoning the lifestyle they’ve spent years building – Rebecca Hale
They have also created a social network platform for other child-free couples, DINK Social, which launches in 2025.
“When all your female friends are having kids, it can be isolating as you watch them connect over this shared interest,” says Ali.
financial freedom
According to insurance provider Legal & General, there are 4.1 million sinks (single income, no children) and dinks in the UK.
Emma Myatt, 30, and her husband, 31, met in their final year of secondary school and have been together ever since.
The couple bought a home in Rugby aged 20 and 21, well below the national average for first-time buyers, which is 34 according to Skipton Group. His house is worth £150,000, which he bought himself.
As the friends began to enter early adulthood, they quickly learned the value of financial stability.
Emma Myatt and her husband are choosing travel and financial stability over parenthood
“We got independence at such a young age. It made us realize how much things cost,” Myatt says. Since then, they have decided that they are not ready to sacrifice their disposable income on children.
The pair preferred to use their shared income of £50,000 to go on holidays to Bali and the US.
Myatt would never enjoy motherhood, saying: “Once you become a parent, you are a different person. I won’t be known as Emma; it will be known as Mummy.”
fertility rate In England and Wales it is at its lowest level since records began in 1938.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that the average number of children per woman of childbearing age has fallen to 1.41, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain population levels.
For Myatt and her husband, the financial benefits are clear.
couple plans Pay off their mortgage by the time they’re 50 So that they can retire early. He has also talked about moving out of the UK completely, which he feels he cannot do with the children.
“I’m glad my husband and I are on the same page,” she says. “Our marriage is very strong and I’m worried that bringing a baby into it might change that.”
escaping the poverty cycle
For some childless families, turning away from parenthood is a way to escape the trap of deprivation in which they themselves grew up.
Georgia Smith* is a 42-year-old business consultant based in Sheffield and has been with her husband for 15 years. Their household income is £100,000.
“I always knew I didn’t want kids,” says Smith. “I went to school on a council estate, and all the kids were in various kinds of unhappiness from poverty.
“It seemed like having children could trap you in a cycle of poverty.”
According to the latest estimates, around 4.5 million children in the UK are living in poverty – around 31 per cent of all children.
“I had a neighbor live next door. She had dogs, kids, went on vacations and had a professional job. I wanted that life.
“I saw an example of how my life could be different and I realized I didn’t have to follow in everyone else’s footsteps on the property.”
Smith and her husband choose to focus their time on travel and fitness. “Having a baby is the perfect time to hit the gym,” she says.
She finds her life without children fulfilling: “I contribute to society in a different way. I’m training to be a physician.”
Delay in family plans
For some people, having children is still a possibility, but plans are being delayed due to the rising cost of living.
Lauren Thorpe, 28, met Charlie Short, 27, when they were in their twenties. The first question on his list was whether he would be happy to wait at least a decade to have children. He was on the same page.
Lauren Thorpe: ‘I want to build and experience one life before I bring another life’ – Asador Guzelian
The average age of parents in Britain has been rising steadily since the mid-1970s.
According to the ONS, women born in 1978 had on average one child per woman by the time they turned 31. But women born in 2007 who turn 18 in 2025 are projected to have an average of one child per woman by age 35.
“I want to build and experience one life before I bring another,” says Thorpe, a former early-years teacher who has now become a TikTok financial influencer and charity fundraiser.
With Short’s salary as a lineworker, his household income is around £65,000 a year. However, he feels the income of £120,000 would be suitable for raising a family at their home in Sheffield.
“We love our life – we’ve only been in our house for three years,” Thorpe explains. “I want make a nest egg So I feel ready.
His monthly expenses, including mortgage payments, food and transport, come to £2,000 per month.
Many of the couple’s friends are not in long-term relationships, nor have children of their own – making their decision easier to maintain.
“My parents always said you could make them younger, but I don’t believe it,” says Thorpe.
*The name has been changed.
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