SINGAPORE: Reflecting on the financial strain of raising a family in today’s economic climate, a man recently expressed astonishment at how older generations managed to get by on a single income.
“I don’t know how the older generation made it—having children, an average of 2 per household, with a car and a flat, and through single income,” he shared on Reddit’s ‘Ask Singapore’ forum.
“How did they cope and make things work?” he asked in awe.
He pointed out that with the rising costs in Singapore, it has become much harder for the average person to maintain the same standard of living.
This shift in economic circumstances, he surmised, also seems to have led to the rising popularity of the DINK (Dual Income, No Kids) lifestyle.
“Is Singapore getting too costly and expensive to thrive for the average citizen?” he asked.
“Or at least for me, I think it is way harder to achieve what my parents did back then. And I’m coming from an average SG family,” he added.
“The golden age is gone; it’s all downhill now”
In the comments section, several Singaporean Redditors explained that this phenomenon can largely be attributed to inflation and the rising cost of living.
Many highlighted how prices for essential goods and services—such as housing, education, and food—have surged in recent years, making it increasingly difficult for families to make ends meet on a single income.
One Redditor recalled, “I remember my mom was earning S$3K plus and could afford to have a maid and pay for the housing all by her lonesome self. The golden age is gone. It’s all downhill now.”
Another commented, “Your parents may not have been earning S$5K a month, but their HDB flats didn’t cost $S500K either.
Additionally, economic policies were not as harsh on the average household back then as they are these days.”
However, others acknowledged that while things may have been cheaper in the past, parents still faced significant struggles.
They noted that even in a time of lower costs, parents had to make many sacrifices to provide for their children.
One Redditor added, “Having kids is a leap of faith. It’s not about the money all the time; plenty of us can actually afford it. People fear the future.”
As for the rise of the DINK lifestyle, many Redditors admitted that they have also chosen this path, either by necessity or by personal preference.
Several commented that while financial pressures play a major role in their decision, other factors are also at play, such as the desire for more freedom and flexibility in their lives.
One Redditor shared, “My reasoning for being DINK is purely selfish. I grew up poor; my first time on a plane was after I earned my own money. Today, my spouse and I travel overseas for vacations quarterly.”
The DINK Lifestyle
The term DINK has been around since the 1980s, notably appearing in the 1987 TIME article “Living: Here Come the DINKs” and the 1987 LA Times article “Dinks—Double Income, No Kids—Is Baby Boomers’ Newest Moniker.”
However, it has only recently gained widespread popularity as child-free couples began sharing snippets of their lives on TikTok.
These couples use the hashtag “DINK” to showcase the joys of a lifestyle free from the responsibilities of raising children, highlighting the freedom and flexibility that come with living without kids.
Today, the hashtag has around 42,000 posts on TikTok, and more people are discovering the benefits of following in the footsteps of these couples. The term has also started to branch out.
From DINK, it has evolved into variations like DINKWAC (“dual income, no kids with a cat”), DINKWAD (“dual income, no kids with a dog”), and DINKWAH (“dual income, no kids with a house”).
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