Ali and Charlie Higgins are simply not willing to give up the financial independence they have spent years building to have children.
Ali, 33, is a recruiter for Uber, while Charlie, 37, works for a technology company.
The couple moved from the United States to Amsterdam for work four years ago and have built up a combined household income of €310,000 (£270,408).
“In the last couple of years, we’ve created a lifestyle that we enjoy living,” says Ali.
“We saw all of our friends having children and how their lives changed. They would tell us that they spend thousands a month on their children’s school fees, and Charlie and I would look at each other in horror.”
The couple are part of a growing group of so-called “Dinks”, which stands for double income, no kids.
While the term was first coined in the US in the 1980s, it has surged in popularity on social media in recent years, with couples posting online about how their disposable income allows them to prioritise Negronis over nappies and lavish holidays over childcare fees.
However, the lifestyle trend is rooted in real concerns about the soaring costs of bringing up children in the UK today.
In 2025, the cost of raising a child to 18 was £250,000 for a couple and £290,000 for a lone parent, according to charity Child Poverty Action Group.
“We’d consider having children if we were millionaires and I could hire nannies to bring on holiday, weekly cleaners and a chef to cook our meals,” says Ali.
Instead of spending on children, the couple spends on holidays and looking after their two dogs.
They have even created a social network platform for other child-free couples, DINK Social, which launched in 2025.
“When all of your female friends are having babies, it can be isolating as you see them connect over this shared interest,” says Ali.
Financial independence
There are 4.1 million Sinks (single income, no kids) and Dinks in the UK, according to insurance provider Legal & General.
Emma Myatt, 30, and her husband, 31, met in the last year of secondary school and have been together since.
The couple bought a home in Rugby when they were 20 and 21 years old, well below the national average for first-time buyers, which is 34 according to Skipton Group. Their house cost £150,000, which they purchased on their own.
While friends were beginning to enter early adulthood, they quickly learnt the value of financial stability.
“We had freedom at such a young age. It made us realise how much things cost,” Myatt says. From then, they decided they weren’t prepared to sacrifice their disposable income on children.
The pair prioritise using their shared income of £50,000 to jet away on holidays to Bali and the US.
Myatt will never entertain motherhood, saying: “Once you become a parent, you are a different person. I wouldn’t be known as Emma; it would be Mummy.”
Fertility rates in England and Wales are languishing at their lowest levels since records began in 1938.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the average number of children per woman of childbearing age has dropped to 1.41, far below the 2.1 needed to sustain population levels.
For Myatt and her husband, the financial benefits are clear.
The couple plan to pay off their mortgage by the time they’re 50 so they can retire early. They have also spoken about moving out of the UK entirely, which they feel they couldn’t do with children.
“I’m glad my husband and I are on the same page,” she says. “We have such a strong marriage, and I worry bringing a child into it might change that.”
Avoiding the poverty cycle
For some childless families, turning their backs on parenthood is a way to escape the scarcity trap they themselves grew up in.
Georgia Smith* is a 42-year-old business consultant living in Sheffield and has been with her husband for 15 years. They have a household income of £100,000.
“I’ve always known I didn’t want children,” Smith says. “I went to school on a council estate, and all the children were in various forms of unhappiness from poverty.
“It seemed like having children could get you stuck in a poverty cycle.”
According to latest estimates, around 4.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK – some 31pc of all children.
“I had a neighbour that lived next door. She had dogs for children, went on holidays and had a professional job. I wanted that life.
“I saw an example of how my life could be different and realised that I didn’t have to follow in the footsteps of everyone else on the estate.”
Smith and her husband choose to focus their time on travelling and fitness. “Going to the gym during child pick-up is the perfect time to go,” she says.
She feels her life is fulfilling without children: “I contribute to society in a different way. I’m training to become a therapist.”
Delaying family plans
For some, having children is still a possibility, but rising living costs have delayed plans.
Lauren Thorpe, 28, met Charlie Short, 27, when they were in their early twenties. One of the first questions on her list was if he would be happy to wait at least a decade to have children. He was on the same page.
The average age of parents in the UK has been rising steadily since the mid-1970s.
According to the ONS, women born in 1978 had an average of one child per woman by the time they were 31. But for women born in 2007 who turned 18 in 2025, they are projected to have an average of one child per woman by the age of 35.
“I want to build and experience a life before bringing another one in,” Thorpe, a former early-years teacher turned TikTok financial influencer and charity fundraiser, says.
With Short’s salary as a lineworker, their household income is around £65,000 a year. However, they feel an income of £120,000 would be suitable for raising a family in their home in Sheffield.
“We like our life – we’ve only been in our own home for three years,” Thorpe explains. “I want to build a nest egg so I feel ready.”
Their monthly expenses come to £2,000 a month, including mortgage payments, food and transport.
A lot of the couple’s friends aren’t in long-term relationships, nor do they have children of their own – making their decision easier to maintain.
“My parents always said you may as well have them young, but I don’t believe in that,” says Thorpe.
*Name has been changed.
*Please note that by submitting your content to us, you are consenting to The Telegraph processing your personal data where required by law. For further details, please see our Privacy Notice.