[SamAdams76]

I know a couple who did not have kids. They are DINK's (Double Income No Kids) as opposed to Yuppies. They are currently in their mid-40s like me and I think not having kids costed them even more money. To protect their identies, I'll refer to them in this posting as Todd and Margo.

1. Luxury Cars - In order to perpetuate their DINK lifestyle, Todd and Margo have been buying luxury automobiles at least ever four years. Such as Lexus sedans, SUVs and BWM convertibles. At an average price of $35,000 they have spent about $350,000 on cars over the past 20 years.

2. Luxury condo and time sharing - In keeping with the DINK lifestyle, Todd and Margo maintain a trendy "loft" in a very tony part of the city as well as time-shares at a ski resort and a Florida beach resort. This represents about $800,000 in payments and fees over the past 20 years.

3. Restaurants - Todd and Margo rarely cook at home. Margo does not want to be thought of as a mere housewife so she insists on dining out or having Todd cook for her in true DINK fashion. Of course, when Todd "cooks" for Margo, he is basically heating up expensive "ready-to-eat" meals purchased at places like Trader Joe's and Whole Food Markets. All told, this represents a dining expense of about $500 a week or nearly $500,000 over the past 20 years.

4. Vacation - Like most self-respecting DINKS, Todd and Margo go away on vacation quite a bit. Unlike families with kids who pack their kids in a station wagon and go to places like Disneyland and Grand Canyon where they stay at the Holiday Inn for $44 per night, Todd and Margo go to more upscale places like West Palm Beach, Aruba, London, Paris, Hawaii, etc. They even go on "safaris" to Africa and once they went to Bangkok "just for the hell of it." They go on cruise ships a lot too. On long weekends, unlike families with kids who stay around the house and barbeque, Todd and Margo often jet off to places like Vail, Colorado for a couple of days of skiing or Montreal just because they have good restaurants and a cool hockey team. Spending an average of $40,000 a year for vacations, they have spent nearly $800,000 over the past 20 years.

5. Clothing - Todd and Margo MUST have the most stylish clothes from such places as Neiman-Marcus, Brooks Brothers and that place with the expensive lingerie. Also, they have to fill up their his and her walk-in closets in their master bedroom. Total clothing budget is $10,000 a year or $200,000 over the past 20 years.

Looks like Todd and Margo have already spent over $2.5 million being without kids and we haven't even gotten down to the daily expenses of being DINKS such as the daily trip to Starbucks where they drop $10 a day easily on stuff like double-shot lattes and fancy pastries or the constant trips to Sharper Image and Brookstones where they are always buying useless things like $60 forks that tell you what the temperature of the steak you are eating with and those little golf video games that end up in Todd's closet and never get used.

Todd and Margo could have raised 10 kids and ended up saving money!

[xrp]

#3 is an affliction that most single women in the USA suffer from

It's hard to find a woman who can or even wants to cook nowadays! I think they've priced themselves out of the market. Those guys who get foreign brides are doing it right.

[Rummyfan]

Of course, when Todd "cooks" for Margo, he is basically heating up expensive "ready-to-eat" meals purchased at places like Trader Joe's and Whole Food Markets.

Some cook huh?

[wintertime]

Todd and Margo

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I love American Christmas. We watch it every year and I laugh every time the squirrel nails Margo and she goes home to punch Todd in the face.

[goldstategop]

Some couples don't want children. Childlesness is not for every one but some people simply don't make good parents. Now being a parent is the most wonderful thing to happen to two people. No one who became a parent ever regretted having a child. They may disappoint you or they may thrill you but there's the satisfaction of knowing your name will live on through them after you're gone. As expensive as parenting is, there are some things no amount of can buy.

(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")