The Childfree Guide To Life And Money

An essential and comprehensive personal finance and money management guide for Childfree and Permanently Childless people. Design the life you want, then create the right financial plan to get you there. Financial planning looks vastly different for DINKs (dual-income, no kids) and SINKs (single-income, no kids). But nearly all the advice out there assumes you have children or will have them someday. Everything from pursuing the kind of career you want; deciding whether you want to buy a house, rent, or hit the road as a digital nomad; to planning and filing taxes; budgeting and investing your money; and getting set up for retirement or your later years is different. Simply said: When you aren't following the Standard LifeScript (go to college, get married, buy a house, have kids), you have the time, money, and freedom to do what you want. Childfree Wealth Specialist® Dr. Jay Zigmont flips FIRE—Financial Independence, Retire Early—on its head, showing how people without kids can live the FILE life—Financial Independence, LIVE Early—by following his eight No-Baby Steps. Whether you're single, coupled up, or planning the perfect Golden Girls living arrangement with your best friends, The Childfree Guide to Life and Money is the most comprehensive resource for designing your life, figuring out your finances, and living your best life.

Examines the rewards and challenges childfree adults face living in a world that celebrates traditional families, offering advice on how to cope with the pressure of friends and family to have children, taking advantage of leisure time, and financial considerations.

Have you ever wondered what people without children do with all their free time and money? Do you assume that they must have a lot of both? The truth is more complex than that! Childfree people come from as many different backgrounds and life circumstances as people with children do. Some are partnered, and some are not. Some are well-educated, some aren't. Some are independently wealthy, and some are just scraping by. Dr. Zigmont's "Portraits of Childfree Wealth" is a collection of 26 vignettes based on interviews with Childfree people. He adds his own significant insights, as both a fellow Childfree professional and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. This book is an eye-opening look at the lives of people in the United States who deliberately chose not to become parents, and if you're in the same boat, you'll find a lot to relate to here. If you have children, you'll learn how the other half lives. And if you're a finance professional, you'll see how money still plays a role for people who don't have to worry about leaving assets to their children. In Portraits of Childfree Wealth, Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP®, interviews 26 individuals and couples to understand their lives. Each portrait provides a different perspective on Childfree Wealth from a diverse population across the US. There are stories from people who are barely making ends meet and others who have achieved FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) or FILE (Financial Independence, Live Early). Being Childfree does not automatically make people rich, as we still suffer from income disparities. The difference is that if a Childfree person is barely making ends meet now, they would have drowned if they had a child. Some key findings: • The reasons for being Childfree are as varied as the people themselves. • There are very few or no regrets from people being Childfree. • Being Childfree does not automatically make you rich. • There is a relationship between growing up in poverty and poor and being Childfree. • Childfree Financial Independence is simple: 1. Get out of debt 2. Max out retirement plans. About the Author, Jay Zigmont, Ph.D., CFP® Dr. Jay, and his wife are Childfree and live in Water Valley, MS. He has a Ph.D. in Adult Learning from the University of Connecticut and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Childfree Wealth Specialist. He is the founder of Live, Learn, Plan, and Childfree Wealth, a life and financial planning firm specializing in helping Childfree Individuals. He has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Business Insider, Woman's World, Investors Business Daily, and many other publications. Visit Childfree Wealth at https://childfreewealth.com.

"Deciding yes or not to motherhood can be fraught with confusion, pain, and loneliness. Many a woman is undecided about arguably the most important life-defining decision she'll make in her lifetime. With the 'Motherhood -- Is it for me?' program, the authors of this book, both dedicated and seasoned psychotherapists, created a process that has helped countless women over the last 25 years. Finally available in print, this program is the perfect resource for closely examining ambivalence around this crucial life choice. Through precise steps, readers are guided on their own personal journeys toward deeper understanding and learn what they really want. The process even allows a woman who is experiencing extremely painful immobilization to find her way through to her true desire. The authors know from their professional experience that an analytical pros-and-cons approach often fails to successfully answer this most personal question. Interspersed throughout this book are twenty diverse stories of women who made conscious choices, half deciding yes and half deciding no. Their stories -- and sometimes advice -- create a valuable community that provides support to every reader, breaking the isolation they may feel."--Book cover.

Edition statement indicates hardcover, but this item is paperback.

From Dr. Amy Blackstone, childfree woman, co-creator of the blog we're {not} having a baby, and nationally recognized expert on the childfree choice, comes a definitive investigation into the history and current growing movement of adults choosing to forgo parenthood: what it means for our society, economy, environment, perceived gender roles, and legacies, and how understanding and supporting all types of families can lead to positive outcomes for parents, non-parents, and children alike. As a childfree woman, Dr. Amy Blackstone is no stranger to a wide range of negative responses when she informs people she doesn't have--nor does she want--kids: confused looks, patronizing quips, thinly veiled pity, even outright scorn and condemnation. But she is not alone in opting out when it comes to children. More people than ever are choosing to forgo parenthood, and openly discussing a choice that's still often perceived as taboo. Yet this choice, and its effects personally and culturally, are still often misunderstood. Amy Blackstone, a professor of sociology, has been studying the childfree choice since 2008, a choice she and her husband had already confidently and happily made. Using her own and others' research as well as her personal experience, Blackstone delves into the childfree movement from its conception to today, exploring gender, race, sexual orientation, politics, environmentalism, and feminism, as she strips away the misconceptions surrounding non-parents and reveals the still radical notion that support of the childfree can lead to better lives and societies for all.

In How to Be Childless: A History and Philosophy of Life Without Children, Rachel Chrastil explores the long and fascinating history of childlessness, putting this often-overlooked legacy in conversation with the issues that childless women and men face in the twenty-first century. Eschewing two dominant narratives, that the childless are either barren and alone, or that they are carefree and selfish, How to Be Childless instead argues that the lives of childless individuals from the past can help all of us expand our range of possibilities for the good life. In uncovering the voices and experiences of childless women from the past five hundred years, Chrastil demonstrates that the pathways to childlessness, so often simplified as "choice" and "circumstance," are far more complex and interweaving. Balanced, deeply researched, and richly realized, How to be Childless will empower readers, parents and childless alike, to navigate their lives with purpose.

"A ... new philosophy and ... guide to getting the most out of your money--and out of life--for those who value memorable experiences as much as their earnings"--