Dual-income no-kid couples, commonly referred to as DINKs, have a significantly different financial reality compared to couples with children. This article discusses the importance of addressing their unique financial needs when meeting with a financial planner.
When couples meet with a financial planner, they’ll most likely talk to one focused on saving, investing and leaving behind an inheritance for children. Which is great – unless you’re not planning on having children.
It’s important, then, for these couples to seek advice from someone who understands the differences. That may be harder than it sounds, though.Samantha Sykes, an investment adviser and a personal financial planner at Raymond James Wealth Management, says the investment world is traditional, and many established advisers aren’t set up to think outside of the box for DINKs.
Other differences for DINKs can include more complicated end-of-life planning, what to do when you’ve maxed out your RRSPs and TSFAs, whether to buy life insurance, and if it’s worth investing in riskier portfolios to reach early or aggressive retirement goals. “Those were the years where, other than on a birthday or an anniversary, there were no fancy dinners,” she
Mr. Ball, a guitar player who loves heavy metal, recently bought VIP tickets to a Metallica concert. The $5,000 package came with backstage access where he met two members of the band, and a special floor space to watch the concert right in front of the stage. She says they have probably saved adequately for retirement, but the lack of support means they’d prefer to have a larger financial cushion in case they need extra care.
After 11 years in Britain, they wanted to try living somewhere else, and Vancouver was the first appealing place where one of them landed a job. As a result, for a couple entering their 40s, they are very well prepared for retirement – whereas their savings would be much smaller if they had children. The flexibility of the child-free life also benefitted Ms. Ochoa’s career. When the couple first moved to Canada for Mr. Watson’s job as an engineering consultant, she took advantage of not working for a while and enrolled in extra courses.
They considered getting life insurance at one point, but an adviser recommended against it, since the two are financially stable on their own and don’t have any dependants. And the fact that this protection is less crucial goes back to one of their main reasons for not having kids: There are few personal and financial obligations that come with their current lifestyle.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kolt was able to dive into writing and takes pride in the success of his wine festival, despite the fact that it’s not the most lucrative endeavour he could pursue. The two have also found that being child-free, and the financial flexibility that comes with that, makes it easy to accommodate the fact that they have very different relationships to money.Wendy Underwood and Kurtis Kolt say their childfree life is the main reason they’re able to own a property in Mount Pleasant, a trendy part of downtown Vancouver.Ms. Underwood never carries debt on her credit card, even if it means eating beans and toast for a week to ensure her balance is at zero. Mr.
In case one of them was to die unexpectedly, the couple elected to get a term life insurance policy that would help with things such as mortgage payments, rather than a more expensive universal life insurance program, since they have no dependants. That’s because they have one lofty goal: early retirement. Ms. Smith, who works in marketing, and Mr. Smith, a project lead at a manufacturing shop, dream of retiring in their mid-50s.
“Some DINKs have saved and invested more money than they will need in their lifetime, so sometimes they might say, ‘Well, I have enough invested anyway, why would I deal with more volatility and stress with my investments than I need to?’” said Mr. Burns.
Financial Planning Dual-Income Couples No-Kid Couples Dinks Disposable Income Child-Rearing Costs
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