I started by doing a lot of research to understand what it is like to be Childfree. Much of that research became the framework for my first book, “Portraits of Childfree Wealth”, and our report on Childfree finances and happiness. It also became the framework for our process of life and financial planning for Childfree people. In the end we found that living a life of Childfree Wealth means you have the time, money, and freedom to do what you enjoy.
The next challenge was in getting the word out there that Childfree life and financial planning is different. While 1 in 5 adults in the US are Childfree, many of them don’t even know the term Childfree exists. Terms matter. DINK/SINK isn’t exactly right, because financial planning changes when you never plan on having kids, and some DINKs/SINKs may just be DINKYs (Dual Income, No Kids, YET). It is a challenge we are still working on, but also why we brought David on as our Chief Marketing Officer this year.
We’ve also done some fun things to reach the Childfree community. We have worked with a variety of Facebook Groups, Instagram influencers, and podcasters. We were a sponsor of the Childfree Convention for the past two years. In 2023, we even sponsored a billboard in Times Square to celebrate International Childfree Day.
To handle the growth and to prepare to help more people, our team is growing! Bri Conn is our newest Childfree Wealth Specialist and the co-host of the Childfree Wealth podcast with me. She was even featured recently in Business Insider for her Childfree life and work! Rob Horwitz recently joined us as a Paraplanner to help support Bri and I. David Fox is our Chief Marketing officer, and his job is to understand the Childfree market and help us get the word out there. Kingston Hollman has been helping us for over a year as our Chief Compliance Officer. And there is more to come! We are currently participating in the BLX Internship and hope to bring on more staff next year!
The bottom line is that it has been a hell of a ride over the past two years for Childfree Wealth. I never could have guessed just how much need is out there. I am now a bit overwhelmed by the challenges of building a company that can serve the millions of Childfree people out there. 2024 is already scheduled to be a great year for us, with my newest book, “The Childfree Guide to Life and Money”, published by SourceBooks, tentatively scheduled to release at the end of the year!
The data helped me to understand that Childfree people needed a different approach to life and financial planning. First and foremost, the inherent flexibility built into Childfree people’s lives means that we need to plan for life first, then finances, then taxes. This may sound like semantics, but it is a huge shift. Rather than asking when can I retire (finances first), the better question is: Do I want to retire? A lot of basic assumptions about finances become options for Childfree people, rather than requirements. For example, buying a house is a choice, not a requirement. To address these huge shifts in thinking, we had to create new frameworks and ways of thinking including:
The next challenge was in getting the word out there that Childfree life and financial planning is different. While 1 in 5 adults in the US are Childfree, many of them don’t even know the term Childfree exists. Terms matter. DINK/SINK isn’t exactly right, because financial planning changes when you never plan on having kids, and some DINKs/SINKs may just be DINKYs (Dual Income, No Kids, YET). It is a challenge we are still working on, but also why we brought David on as our Chief Marketing Officer this year.
We have worked hard to partner with reporters and had great success getting the word out there through press. In the past two years, I have done over 500 ‘press hits’ (quotes, mentions, or feature articles). Some of our best articles are below:
- MarketWatch - ‘Who is going to take care of you when you’re old?’ Childfree retirement planning answers the questions all of us should be asking
- Wall Street Journal - How Much Money Do You Really Save by Not Having Kids?
- CNBC - Not having children ‘breaks’ traditional financial planning, says CFP—8 money rules for childfree people
- Business Insider - 4 ways childfree people should plan differently with their money, according an an expert who knows
- ABC 7 - International Childfree Day
We’ve also done some fun things to reach the Childfree community. We have worked with a variety of Facebook Groups, Instagram influencers, and podcasters. We were a sponsor of the Childfree Convention for the past two years. In 2023, we even sponsored a billboard in Times Square to celebrate International Childfree Day.
When it comes to podcasts, we have been on a bunch! We also launched our own podcast, initially named the Childfree Life and Money podcast, now simply the Childfree Wealth podcast. Some of our favorite episodes are below:
Our efforts have led to great success! In 2023 alone, we have met with over 175 Childfree people! (both singles and couples). We launched a Childfree Academy which has 15 courses and over 100 videos. Childfree Wealth is beating all industry benchmarks for growth, revenue, and more! I never could have guessed how fast it would grow.
To handle the growth and to prepare to help more people, our team is growing! Bri Conn is our newest Childfree Wealth Specialist and the co-host of the Childfree Wealth podcast with me. She was even featured recently in Business Insider for her Childfree life and work! Rob Horwitz recently joined us as a Paraplanner to help support Bri and I. David Fox is our Chief Marketing officer, and his job is to understand the Childfree market and help us get the word out there. Kingston Hollman has been helping us for over a year as our Chief Compliance Officer. And there is more to come! We are currently participating in the BLX Internship and hope to bring on more staff next year!
The bottom line is that it has been a hell of a ride over the past two years for Childfree Wealth. I never could have guessed just how much need is out there. I am now a bit overwhelmed by the challenges of building a company that can serve the millions of Childfree people out there. 2024 is already scheduled to be a great year for us, with my newest book, “The Childfree Guide to Life and Money”, published by SourceBooks, tentatively scheduled to release at the end of the year!
All I can really say is thank you. Thank you to the Childfree community for embracing us. Thank you to the staff of Childfree Wealth for your commitment to serving people without kids. Thank you all for spreading the word. If you want to keep an eye on what we are doing, or want to spread the word further, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and subscribe, share and rate the Childfree Wealth podcast.