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When Tiffany Janzen met her husband, Phil, 15 years ago, neither one of them felt a particularly strong urge to become parents.
Two years after getting married, the couple was diagnosed with infertility, which would require costly treatments, time and extra work to become parents.
The Ontario couple quickly decided that wasn’t the path for them and they were content being a family of two.
Since then, Janzen says she and her husband Phil have been able to launch his financial planning firm, travel to Thailand, Mexico and Scotland, participate in meaningful charity work and pursue creative passions like starting her own ceramics business while working part-time as a social media manager for a local bookstore.
“Not having kids has allowed me to just pursue my passions,” says Janzen, 34. “It’s definitely a privilege that I don’t take for granted, and we probably wouldn’t have been able to do this if we had kids. I’d probably have to be working full-time in order to afford them.”
Couples like the Janzens with dual incomes and no kids, or DINKs, are becoming more common.
In 2022, there were nearly 2.13 million dual-earning couples in Canada without children, up 8% from 1.97 million in 2020, according to Statistics Canada. The median household income of DINK couples also increased to $100,170 from $88,990 over the same time period.
In contrast, the average cost to raise children in Canada is $293,000 from birth to age 17 (or about $17,235 per year) for a two-parent, middle-income family with two kids, according to data released in late 2023 by Statistics Canada.
How DINKs are setting, meeting financial goals
For many DINK couples, not having the substantial costs of raising children to budget for (think: health care, childcare, education, activities and general upkeep) frees up money for other important goals.
For Jessica Moorhouse and her husband of 11 years, being child-free has enabled them to have financial freedom and flexibility to live life on their terms, and take calculated risks in their careers that have paid off.
“I’ve had multiple careers, he’s gone back to school a few times and we’ve been able to try things,” says Moorhouse, a financial educator and Accredited Financial Counsellor Canada. “Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they don’t, but I think we both would’ve been a lot more risk-averse if we had children.”
Additionally, the Moorhouses direct a significant portion of their self-employed incomes to retirement savings and were able to buy their townhome in Toronto after relocating from Vancouver — another milestone Jessica Moorhouse says would’ve been difficult to achieve if they had children to care and pay for.
The Janzens also have embraced the flexibility and spontaneity that their child-free life (and a higher disposable income) affords them.
“Honestly, it’s been really great,” Tiffany Janzen says. “We knew since we’re not having kids, we were probably going to have more disposable income. Traveling is something we really want to do, and we’ve both been able to pursue hobbies we love.”
For instance, Janzen, a blogger, started an Instagram community for child-free living that she’s grown to more than 127,000 followers in a few short years. The couple also put in a garden from which Janzen donates fresh produce to a local charity that helps low-income people in her community.
6 tips for planning a child-free future
Even without children in the picture, planning for your family is still crucial, Melissa Leong, a Canadian money expert and best-selling author of “Happy Go Money,” said in an email.
“You still need to balance your savings with spending to live a happy, fulfilled life,” Leong points out. “You still need to protect your future, so prioritize your emergency fund, insurance needs, debt management and retirement savings. And you need to invest in your partnership.”
If you’re a DINK or aspire to join their ranks, here are some tips to plan for your financial future:
1. Take stock of your money. Whether you have kids or not, all couples need to evaluate their income, spending and financial goals, and create a budget that prioritizes things that are important to them, Moorhouse says. After the essentials are covered, prioritize savings and discretionary “fun” spending, like travel and hobbies.
2. Save for specific goals. For starters, create an emergency fund with three to six months’ worth of living expenses stashed in a savings account. This will give your family a financial cushion should you or your spouse lose your job or experience another financial hardship. If homeownership is high on your list of goals, open a First Home Savings Account (FHSA), a tax-free government savings account that allows Canadians to save $8,000 per year to buy a home. You can save up to $40,000 without penalty.
3. Think about retirement. Even if you’re just starting out, think about what you want retirement to look like — and start saving accordingly. Consider maximizing contributions to employer-sponsored registered retirement savings plans and tax-free savings accounts early and often. Make sure you diversify your investments according to your tolerance for risk and your long-term goals as a couple. This is where consulting a financial advisor comes in handy, too.
4. Create an estate plan. Without kids in the picture, designate trusted relatives or friends to be beneficiaries and ensure your final wishes are carried out, Janzen says. Also, consider the legacy you want to leave behind even with no children in the picture as heirs.
“When child-free people are considering their retirement and their estate planning, consider viewing that as a way to bless people at the end of your life,” Janzen says. “If you do have a lot of extra money, yeah, it’s great to spend it on yourself and do the fun things — and you should do that. But it’s also a really beautiful opportunity to bless other people.”
5. Think about long-term care. A chief concern among child-free couples, Janzen notes, is long-term care planning. In addition to savings for this potential expense, DINK couples can explore long-term care insurance and how they want to be cared for as they age, and plan accordingly. Options might include in-home care or moving into a nursing facility, depending on your future needs.
“The biggest problem that child-free people will run into is having a trustworthy person to advocate for you,” Janzen says. “But when it comes to actual care, as long as you’re proactive and saving, parents and child-free people are in the same boat: If your kids put you in a home, we’re going to be roommates — child-free or not.”
6. Communicate openly and often. Leong points out that money disagreements can create marital strife, making it one of the top reasons couples split. Partners with or without kids should work together to have a healthy relationship with money to strengthen their bond, she says.
“I recommend regular doses of curiosity and conversation when it comes to your finances,” Leong adds. “Set goals together, set boundaries and expectations, and seek the help of an unbiased third party if you need help navigating issues.”
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