A couple say they save over €10,000 a year by being child-free, and don’t want to “sacrifice” their four holidays a year, nights out, and lie-ins by having kids.
Jenni Hill, 33, and her partner Bob, 28, have calculated that it would cost around €185,000 to raise a child to the age of 18. Having opted against having a family, they’ve decided to “enjoy” this money instead and “celebrate it”.
The self-employed finance copywriter says she had always assumed she’d be a mother but began to change her mind in her late 20s, when she found herself happy with her life and wanted to continue being able to afford a lifestyle she enjoyed.
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Jenni and Bob now enjoy lie-ins, four holidays a year, and nights out. She wants others to know it’s okay to “celebrate” being child-free.
“As a child, I always assumed I would be a mum,” said Jenni, who is from Manchester.
“I had a plan – I thought I’d get married at 28, have a baby at 29, and live happily ever after. But by age 28 to 29 I started to change my mind.
“Life was only just getting to a place I wanted it to be – I’m not ready.
“Seeing my friends become mums, it made me realise how hard being a mum is. I see how much they struggle – I don’t think I could handle that.
“I don’t think I could sacrifice everything else if I became a mum. I found out the average cost of raising a child,” she continued.
“I divided that by the number of years – it feels like I have an extra £9,000 (€10,389) to spend on what I want. I want to enjoy my money and celebrate it.”
Jenni didn’t travel much in her 20s but now loves to jet off as much as she can. She said: “Me and my boyfriend go on holiday three to four times a year. It’s really nice. There are no responsibilities.
“We can be quite spontaneous. So many places I want to tick off my list. I wouldn’t want to be resentful or regretful,” she added. “We have freedom and I have the money to do that.”
Jenni has big career goals to grow her business and wants to buy a bigger home and save for her retirement.
She said: “It’s hard to find enough hours in the day – I don’t know how mothers juggle it.
“It’s been eye opening to see my friends become mums – and to see how much it restricts you.”
She hasn’t ruled out having children in the future but currently doesn’t know how they would fit into her life – or how she would afford them without compromise.
She said: “If I had a child I would need to spend all my money on them.
“For me the motherhood penalty – it would have a hard impact on me. There is no way we could afford to get married, have kids and buy a house.”
Jenni says people online have accused her of being “selfish” for not wanting children, but she says she wants to share a positive view regarding the choice to not have kids.
“I can shape my day around what I want to do. Some days I don’t get up until 9am. If I had a child my life schedule would be dictated by them,” she explained.
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