Childfree Life by Design

Buying a home has been sold as the responsible, obvious next step for so long that most people have never actually stopped to ask whether it fits their life. Dr. Jay Zigmont CFP® owned homes from age 21 to 45 and now rents. Fiona Waller CFP® works with clients who have spent years in properties they quietly resented. In this episode, they take apart the financial math, the family voices, the passive income myth, and the real cost of owning a vacation home to help Childfree adults make housing decisions based on what they actually want rather than what they have been told to want.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why the stock market returning seven to ten percent annually makes a stronger financial case than a mortgage at six percent interest on a home appreciating three to five percent per year.
How to tell whether you should buy or rent based on your life first and your finances second, and why being unable to say where you will be in three years is the only answer you need
Why rent is the most you will pay each month while a mortgage is the least, and what that difference means for a Childfree adult who values flexibility and simplicity
Why rental properties are not passive income, what the 1031 exchange strategy assumes about passing wealth to children, and why that assumption does not work for Childfree people
Why vacation homes are the worst of all worlds for Childfree adults, and why renting wherever you want to go beats owning a property you have to manage from a distance
Resources Mentioned:
What if your Parents Run out of Money | Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® & Bri Conn, CFP®
https://childfreeinsights.com/resources/podcast/episode-136/ 
Inheriting Parent Care Responsibility | Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® & Bri Conn, CFP®
https://childfreeinsights.com/resources/podcast/episode-137/ 
Episode Hosts:
Dr. Jay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and Permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®. He is also the author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
Fiona Waller, MSW, LCSW, CFP® is a Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth®. She brings a unique perspective as a former therapist, focusing on the intersection of mental health and money using a trauma-informed background to help clients align their financial and life plans with their values.
About Childfree Insights:
Childfree Insights delivers education for financial and estate planning without children. It supports people with no kids in making informed decisions about retirement, legacy planning, beneficiaries, and long-term care. Home of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®.
Connect with Us:
Ready to work on building better financial habits? Connect with our financial planning team at childfreewealth.com or learn more about estate planning at childfreetrust.com.
Follow Childfree Life by Design on your favorite podcast platform and join the conversation on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childfreeinsights
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildfreeInsights/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/childfreeinsights
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChildfreeInsights
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes. Please consult your advisor before implementing any ideas heard on this podcast.

For Childfree adults building a future without a traditional family support structure, the quality of your later years matters as much as the quantity. In this episode, Dr. Jay Zigmont CFP® sat down with Joshua Herring, President and CEO of the Longevity Science Foundation, to talk about what it actually takes to fund the research that could extend not just how long you live, but how well. 
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why 85% of researchers spend the majority of their time looking for funding instead of doing research, and what the Longevity Science Foundation is doing to change that
How 100% of every donation to the LSF goes directly to research, and why that is possible when most nonprofits allocate 10 to 20% to operational overhead
Why women who go through menopause before 40 face a 43% higher risk of Alzheimer's, and how a menopause clock currently in development could become one of the most impactful predictive health tools ever built
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Jyoti Patel | How medicine is failing women and what you can do to fix it | TEDxWilsonPark
https://youtu.be/z8SXmSi0eGI?si=F20HYvyXOBUlQ0b7 
The Diary Of A CEO Female Health Debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kizDk8idpT8 
Episode Guest:
Joshua Herring is the President and CEO of the Longevity Science Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funding research to expand the healthy human lifespan. Prior to joining the LSF, he managed over $2 billion in assets for ultra-high-net-worth clients at AllianceBernstein. Since taking the helm at LSF, he has launched funding for research at Oxford, Stanford, and the University of Copenhagen, and developed the LSF Education Bank to give everyday people agency in their own health journeys. 
Connect with Joshua on his website: https://longevity.foundation/ 
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-herring-2a6099185/
Or send him an email: [email protected]
Episode Host:
Dr. Jay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP® (he/him) is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and Permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®. He is also the author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
About Childfree Insights:
Childfree Insights is the trusted education hub for people who are Childfree or permanently Childless. It provides guidance on finances, estate planning, relationships, and life decisions for adults without children. Home of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®, supporting long-term planning for people living without kids.
Connect with Us:
Ready to work on building better financial habits? Connect with our financial planning team at childfreewealth.com or learn more about estate planning at childfreetrust.com.
Follow Childfree Life by Design on your favorite podcast platform and join the conversation on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childfreeinsights
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildfreeInsights/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/childfreeinsights
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChildfreeInsights
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes. Please consult your advisor before implementing any ideas heard on this podcast.

Rental properties, passive income, and long-distance real estate investing sound great on social media. The reality looks a lot more like what Justin Brown-Woods actually lived -- two properties across Michigan and Ohio, squatters, stolen copper pipes, three evictions in one year, and a net loss of $25,000 on the first property alone. Bri Conn, CFP® sits down with Justin Brow-Woods, Accredited Financial Counselor® and co-founder of Price of Avocado Toast, for an honest look at what small investors need to know before they buy.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why rental properties are rarely passive income, and how a single repair -- a sewer pipe, a roof, a set of stolen copper pipes -- can wipe out months of cash flow for a small investor with no cushion to absorb it
What inheriting tenants actually means, why the deal that looks great on paper can come with problems that no inspection uncovers, and how three evictions in one year became Justin's reality
Why out-of-state investing creates a specific set of risks around property management, oversight, and the gap between what you are paying for and what you are actually getting
How social media turns real estate investing into a fantasy product, and why the person with 99 properties and a beach vacation is not the same person as the small investor trying to build long-term wealth
Why having trusted people in your corner -- a real estate coach, a financial therapist, a straight-talking property manager -- made the difference between staying stuck and getting out with a plan
Episode Guest:
Justin Brown-Woods is an accredited financial counselor and co-founder of Price of Avocado Toast, a podcast and financial counseling service he runs with his wife Hailey. He helps people ditch shame, embrace mindful spending, and build a sustainable financial life aligned with their values, with a focus on progress over perfection.
Learn more about Justin on his website: priceofavocadotoast.com 
And on Instagram: https://instagram.com/priceofavocadotoast

Episode Host:
Bri Conn, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth®, and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®.
About Childfree Insights:
Childfree Insights is a trusted resource for life planning without children. It explores financial planning, estate planning, relationships, and long-term decisions for adults building a future without kids. Home of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®.
Connect with Us:
Ready to work on building better financial habits? Connect with our financial planning team at childfreewealth.com or learn more about estate planning at childfreetrust.com.
Follow Childfree Life by Design on your favorite podcast platform and join the conversation on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childfreeinsights
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildfreeInsights/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/childfreeinsights
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChildfreeInsights
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes. Please consult your advisor before implementing any ideas heard on this podcast.

In this crossover episode, Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® sat down with Dr. Bill Yount, host and founder of the Catching Up to FI podcast, for a conversation that starts where most financial conversations never go. Bill recently hit financial independence and found himself in what he calls the fog of FI -- that disorienting stretch after you reach the number and realize the number was never really the point. He and Dr. Jay compare notes on what it actually feels like to arrive at a goal you spent years building toward, what it takes to build a meaningful second chapter, and what legacy really means when you are not leaving it to children.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Reaching your goals is an identity shift, not a finish line. Dr. Bill calls it the "fog of FI." 
For Childfree people, legacy is not about lineage. Dr. Jay's second-line obituary exercise cuts to it: after your name and date, what does your life actually say?
Lowercase p purpose is what keeps you from wandering. It's not a grand mission, it's knowing who you want to serve and how.
Most retirement readiness has nothing to do with money. Fritz Gilbert's framework puts roughly 15 of 20 steps in the "soft" category: relationships, creativity, identity, and giving.
The right financial planner is a thought partner. Both Dr. Jay and Dr. Bill make the case for flat-fee planners who focus on life and behavior, not portfolio management.
Episode Host:
Dr. Jay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and Permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®. He is also the author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
Episode Guest:
Dr. Bill Yount is a practicing Emergency Physician and the host and founder of Catching Up to FI, a podcast for late starters at any age on the journey to financial independence. A self-described late starter himself, his mission is to help others begin where they are. 
Learn more on the Catching Up to FI Website: https://catchinguptofi.com/
And find him on Catching up to FI: https://www.facebook.com/groups/catchinguptofi/ 
And the Financial Literacy Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/371081386982173/ 

About Childfree Insights
Childfree Insights is a trusted resource for life planning without children. It explores financial planning, estate planning, relationships, and long-term decisions for adults building a future without kids. Home of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®.
Connect with Us:
Ready to work on building better financial habits? Connect with our financial planning team at childfreewealth.com or learn more about estate planning at childfreetrust.com.
Follow Childfree Life by Design on your favorite podcast platform and join the conversation on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childfreeinsights
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildfreeInsights/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/childfreeinsights
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChildfreeInsights
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes. Please consult your advisor before implementing any ideas heard on this podcast.

Every major life change comes with a to-do list most people don't think about until they're already in the middle of it. The job switch that leaves you a month without a paycheck. The move that triggers a tax bill from a state you no longer live in. The divorce where nobody updated the beneficiary and the ex-spouse got the pension.
Being Childfree means more flexibility to make bold moves. It also means more responsibility to plan them deliberately. In this episode, Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® and Bri Conn, CFP® walk through the financial and legal checklist that should come with every major life transition, from career pivots and relocations to marriage, divorce, and everything in between. 
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why timing a job change can be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
How to build a relocation plan that accounts for the costs most people miss.
Why a prenup is really a financial conversation first, and how working through money values, spending habits, and what Jay calls compatible baggage.
What gray divorce means for Childfree adults and why updating beneficiaries is non-negotiable.
How to build a sinking fund for any major life transition, so that when the move, the career pivot, or the life change actually happens, your emergency fund stays untouched and the stress stays manageable.
The episode referenced in this conversation can be heard here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2002436/episodes/18504425
Episode Hosts:
Dr. Jay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®. He is also the author of “The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.”
Bri Conn, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth®, and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®.
About Childfree Insights
Childfree Insights focuses on planning for solo aging and later life without children. It offers trusted education on financial planning, estate planning, and building support systems for people aging independently. Home of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®.

Connect with Us:
Ready to work on building better financial habits? Connect with our financial planning team at childfreewealth.com or learn more about estate planning at childfreetrust.com.
Follow Childfree Life by Design on your favorite podcast platform and join the conversation on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childfreeinsights
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildfreeInsights/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/childfreeinsights
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChildfreeInsights
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes. Please consult your advisor before implementing any ideas heard on this podcast.