'We save £9k a year being child-free – I don’t want to sacrifice holidays, night outs and lie-ins'

A couple say they save £9k-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, had always assumed she’d be a mum but she started to change her mind after reaching her late 20s. The finance copywriter realised her life was only just getting to a point she was happy with and to continue to afford the lifestyle she wanted be child-free.

Now, as a self-employed woman, she enjoys a lie-in, four holidays a year and nights out with her partner, Bob, 28, a teacher. Jenni calculated she gains £9k-a-year being child-free - based on the average cost of £160k to raise a child to the age of 18. She wants others to know it's okay to "celebrate" being childfree.

Jenni, from Manchester, said: “As a child I always assumed I would be a mum. I had a plan – I thought I’d get married at 28, have a baby at 29 and live happily ever after. But by aged 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. I divided that by the number of years – it feels like I have an extra £9k to spent on what I want. I want to enjoy my money and celebrate it.”

Jenni didn’t travel much in her 20s and 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."

Jenni hasn’t ruled out 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 around the choice to not have kids.

She said: "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. I’m celebrating being child-free. Celebrate a different choice."