Expenses That Dinks Should Not Have, But Do.

Hello DINKS. Correct me if I am wrong, but we are “supposed” to have less monthly expenses as dual income no kid’s couples than our counterparts who are families with kids. Am I correct? I was going over my personal expenses for last month and I realized that I actually spent money on costs, that as one half of a dinks couple, I am not supposed to have.

Parents who read Dinks Finance please don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely not saying that I am spending the equivalent on my miscellaneous expenses that you are  spending on raising your child (or children), but I did have some expenses last month that were kid-related and I don’t even have kids.

3 Kid-Related Expenses that Dinks Should Not Have:

1. Clothing and Toys for Kids. I don’t have children and I am not planning on having kids anytime soon (or ever) but last month I spent over $200 on clothing and toys for kids.  I am 31 years old and it seems that I am at the baby-making age. Last month I went to two baby showers for a couple of my friends and my niece also had her 4^th birthday party. This added up to over $200 in gifts for kids that I don’t even have.  I am not sure what the average cost of kid-related expenses is per month, but I find it hard to believe that kids really need over $200 per month in clothes.

2. Your Annual School Tax Bill. Every quarter people pay one forth of their total annual school taxes and one forth of their total annual property tax bill.  I live in a 21 floor high rise building in the middle of downtown, there are no schools within several blocks and I honestly don’t understand why I am paying a school tax bill for a service that I am not using.  I am all in favour of kids getting an education; I just don’t think that I should have to pay for it.

3. Bulk Shopping for Two.  A few years ago my boyfriend Nick and I started to shop for our budget instead of shopping for convenience.  Shopping for convenience saves time, but it definitely doesn’t save money.  Budget friendly shopping definitely saves money, but at the same time I often find myself living without things that I want.  When I do our weekly grocery shopping I only buy items that are on sale, if I really want something and it’s not on sale I wait for another week.  Extra food is more of a splurge than a necessity, so as long as I buy enough food each week for Nick and I to eat 3 meals a day, I am happy.

Another habit that I picked up while learning to shop on a budget is to find a balance between saving money and hoarding stock.  I used to only buy household items such as toothpaste, toilet paper, laundry supplies and dish soap when I needed them and very often that meant paying full price. However, now I buy household items when they are on sale.  I try not to buy too many household items in bulk because unused items are also a waste of money.

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