Money + Relationship – Kids = DINKS

This formula makes up the perfect DINKS equation.  Our lifestyles consist of two employed people earning a salary, in a relationship, without children.

I for one love the life I have chosen; and yes it was a choice. My boyfriend Nick used to want children when we were younger, but I think that everyone wanted children when we were younger.  It is supposed to be the thing to do…go to university, get married, and have children.

But, as we get older, life becomes more complicated and other priorities take focus. My current priority is growing my new business Madam Creative Services . We offer professional freelance creative services such as graphic designers, web site developers, bloggers, copy editors, and resume writers.

My second priority is my regular 9-5 bank job, even though it is my primary source of income. I say that it is my second priority because I have been in finance for over 10 years.  Although it is always changing, I pretty much have the hang of things.  Of course I also have my side hustles which include working part time in a lingerie store and blogging about love, life, and personal finance.  As you can see my lifestyle just doesn’t have the variable option of children.

I love personal finance, but I could live without the office politics. Although I am proud to admit that I have (now in my 30s) become an extremely manipulative player in the intelligent game of office politics.  Any type of professional and/or office environment always comes with some strings attached.  This is why I am working towards being self employed; not because I enjoy politics, because I enjoy making business deals.  The art of business fascinates me, and in my opinion, the ultimate strategic move in life is to become self employed. Most people become self employed because they may have a problem with authority that is not me. I just like to prove that I am smarter and more strategic than others.

The second variable of the dinks formula is our relationship. I have been with my boyfriend Nick for the last 11 years.  Just as in any relationship, of course we have experienced our ups and downs throughout the years. I’m sure there have been times throughout our relationship when we have both wanted to walk away, but we didn’t.  We both play our part financially and emotionally in our relationship.  We have grown up together from living together in a studio apartment where the kitchen was also the living room, to living in a luxury penthouse one bedroom apartment with a view.

It is normal that people change as they grow up and since we have been together since we were 19, of course we have both changed a lot over the last 11 years. We have lived through many great experiences together including vacations around the world, job promotions, and university graduations…just to name a few.  We have also stood by each other’s side through darker times such as deaths in our families, sudden changes, and divorce.  However, we have stayed together and now we are enjoying our jobs and our relationship.

All of this Minus the kids equals the Perfect Dink Equation.
Is your DINK Equation balanced?

(Photo By Dan)

Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.