- Natalie Fischer and her husband Keldon are DINKs – double income, no kids, couple.
- In July 2023, Fischer left her tech job to become a full-time content creator.
- Being a DINK allowed Fischer to travel, own a home, and take risks in a new career.
This essay as told is based on a transcribed conversation with Natalie Fischer, 25, of Washington, about her experience in a “DINK” relationship – double income, no children. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When my husband Keldon and I first met in January 2018, we knew we weren’t ready to have kids.
I was 20 and he was 25 – we were very young and wanted to see the world first and get our finances together.
Keldon is now a software engineer. After college, I worked in marketing roles, but in 2020, I became a data analyst for a Washington-based energy company. In 2021, I started making over $100,000 per year. We were tech DINKs, which means double income, no kids.
We want kids later in life, but we both agree that it’s not the right time for us. With two incomes and no children, we were able to buy a house, pay for a wedding, build our savings and travel. I even left my 9 to 5 job to pursue my passion for content creation.
There has also been a wave of layoffs in the technology sector. These factors make me feel like we made the right decision in postponing having children.
We splurged and traveled a lot in the days of DINK technology
As tech DINKs, Keldon and I could splurge on whatever we wanted because we had plenty of discretionary income.
We both worked in East Seattle and would meet up after work to eat out or watch a movie. We saw it as a way to treat ourselves because we worked incredibly hard.
In July 2020, we purchased a two bedroom condo for around $500,000. We consolidated our finances and got pre-approved for a mortgage. It was easier to buy a house with two incomes because we could split the down payment equally between us.
We split the expenses, so it was like everything was half price and we were able to save more. We have both built up emergency funds in 2022; I have $31,000 in me. We stopped putting money into it and prioritized saving for our wedding and honeymoon expenses. We were able to save around $20,000 for our August 2023 wedding.
We have a travel fund of $4,000. We also have a home improvement fund and we invest additional income to max out our Roth IRAs and invest in a regular brokerage account. Our savings strategy was quite disciplined. We could spend a little more than half of our after-tax income on financial goals like saving and investing.
Our dog, a Pomeranian, brings a lot of joy to our lives, but he was expensive. It cost about $1,700 when we bought it a month after we bought our house, which makes us DINKWAD (double income, no kids, with a dog). We spoil him with lots of treats.
Last year, Keldon and I were able to travel almost every other month, even after I quit my job. We felt like we had the financial security to do this because we already had a house and emergency funds.
We’ve been to places like Rome, Mexico and Finland. Having the time and freedom to explore the world was great since we didn’t have kids.
I left my tech job to become a content creator
I started creating TikToks about my personal finance journey in 2022. On TikTok, people told me I was making an impact by teaching them new things about finance. I earned $40,000 in income from content creation in 2022 and $107,000 in 2023 before expenses.
Most of my income from content creation in 2023 came from UGC, or user-generated content, which I create for fintech companies to use on their social media platforms.
In my job as a data analyst, I was doing calculations and it was very difficult to feel like I was having an impact. I left my 9-5 job in July 2023 to pursue content creation full-time.
I figured last year was the perfect time to take the risk of quitting my job because I’m still young, have a savings fund, and don’t have the scary responsibility of supporting needs of a child. Being DINK was a big part of why I had savings and could take this risk.
Before I quit my job, creating content provided additional income on top of my salary. We’ve had to adapt our lifestyle because my income now fluctuates more from month to month.
I am very grateful to have a supportive partner like Keldon. He contributes more to expenses than I do during the months when I earn less from my business. He’s been a steady rock – I definitely couldn’t do this without him.
Since I don’t earn a stable income, we decided to limit our spending even more this year.
The glory days are kind of over. We spend less on eating out and travel less. This year we have planned a big trip together this summer.
I decided to give myself a salary of $35,000 for 2024 through my content creation business. Keldon made over $100,000 last year, so we’re still in a good place, but I’m still trying to be more frugal and financially conscious.
I hope the risk pays off. Since content creation doesn’t require me to go into an office, I hope to build a flexible career that I can continue while raising a child.
We want to reach certain financial milestones before becoming parents
I think we made the right decision by waiting to have children. I would have a lot of regrets if I were already a parent. Keldon and I are both early in our careers and haven’t made a name for ourselves yet.
We believe the economic situation is uncertain, especially with layoffs occurring in the technology sector. We want to reach certain financial milestones before becoming parents. We want a net worth of $1 million and a fund to cover all medical and childcare costs related to having children.
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