Childfree Life by Design

Giving gets complicated fast when you start asking where your time and money can make the most impact. Bri Conn, CFP® and Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® explore how Childfree people can give with more intention, whether that means volunteering, donating to causes, supporting friends and family, or creating meaningful experiences.
They also cover giving while you are alive, vetting organizations before making larger commitments, and setting boundaries so generosity does not turn into obligation.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why deciding who you want to impact comes before deciding how much to give.
How to choose between giving time, money, skills, services, or a combination that fits your life.
Why giving while you are alive can help you see the impact, test organizations, and adjust your plans over time.
What to consider before making a large gift to a small local nonprofit that may not have the systems to manage it.
How paying for education, services, experiences, or specific needs can create healthier boundaries when helping friends and family.
Mentioned in this episode:

Ann Patchett TEDx Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBx86QE4k3s

Episode Hosts:
Bri Conn, CFP® is a Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth® and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®. She specializes in financial management, life design, and estate planning, with particular focus on LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, drawing on her own early financial challenges and recovery to fuel her work in personal finance education.
Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®, the first of its kind next of kin representation service for Childfree people. He is also the author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
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.

You pay more for healthcare than almost anyone on earth, and it keeps getting harder to actually get the care you're paying for. Jordan Grumet, MD, the hospice doctor known as Doc G, returns to explain why, and his answer is blunt: the system isn't broken by accident, it's built to pull money out of the middle and away from the patients and the people caring for them. He and Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® get honest about what that means for Childfree people especially, who can't assume a family member will be there to advocate or provide unpaid care.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
How the modern healthcare system shifted from a public good to a business, and why Americans pay roughly double per person while so much of that money never reaches actual care
Why the "divide and conquer" dynamic pits doctors and patients against each other, and how that keeps the people who could demand change too busy fighting each other to see what's happening
What concrete steps individuals can take right now, from direct primary care and concierge medicine to asking for generics, appealing insurance denials, and seeking out doctors who still own their practices
Why long-term care is an especially hard road for Childfree people, since standard plans quietly assume a family member available for unpaid caregiving, and how to plan around that
Why Dr. Grumet stays hopeful despite it all, how past movements turned public outrage into real reform, and why building enough financial freedom to cover the basics is what lets you live a purposeful life
Mentioned in this episode:

Finding Purpose Beyond Financial Independence with Doc G, Ep 120 https://childfreeinsights.com/resources/podcast/episode-120
Episode Guest:
Jordan Grumet, MD (Doc G) is an internal medicine and hospice physician, currently an associate medical director at Unity Hospice, and the host of the award-winning Earn & Invest podcast, which won the Plutus Award for Best New Personal Finance Podcast. He is the author of Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life, The Purpose Code, and his newest book, The Healthcare Heist: How Physicians and Patients Can Unite to Transform Healthcare. After his own burnout in medicine, he turned toward writing and speaking about financial independence, purpose, and living a meaningful life.
Connect with Jordan Grumet, MD:
Website: jordangrumet.com
 Podcast: Earn & Invest
 Books: Taking Stock, The Purpose Code, and The Healthcare Heist
Episode Host:
Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®, the first of its kind next of kin representation service for Childfree people. He is also the author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
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.

The entire estate and long-term care system runs on one assumption: that you have kids who will make your decisions, provide your care, and inherit what's left. For Childfree people, that quietly turns standard legal documents into a liability. In this deliberately nerdy solo episode, Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® pulls apart the 6,000-word article he wrote for financial planners at Kitces and turns it into a plan you can actually use, from the trust language that should put your care first to the net worth buckets that decide how you pay for it. It's technical, honest, and built on one blunt truth: the system won't protect you, so you have to build the plan that will.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why the standard estate planning system breaks down for Childfree people, and why the goal is a plan for both paying for care and naming decision-makers in place by your mid-40s
How traditional HEMS trust language limits your own care, and why "exhaustion for care" provisions that put your comfort first are essential in a Childfree trust
Why naming a relative who also inherits creates a conflict of interest, how it opens the door to elder financial abuse, and what the alternatives are, from state-licensed fiduciaries to a nationwide service
Why a pet trust matters, how to fund one so your animal is genuinely protected, and why pets are the number one reason Childfree people finally complete their estate paperwork
How to actually pay for long-term care using the net worth buckets, why Medicare doesn't cover it, and how the single tax makes care more expensive when you're on your own
Resources Mentioned:
The full Kitces article: Childfree Trust Planning: A Lifetime Care Defense
https://www.kitces.com/blog/client-childfree-trust-planning-lifetime-care-defense-estate-ltc-insurance/  
Childfree Trust: https://childfreetrust.com/ 
FreeWill, free estate paperwork: https://www.freewill.com/ 
The NOKBOX (Next of Kin Box): https://www.thenokbox.com/ 
Recompose: https://recompose.life/ 
Episode Host:
Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®, the first of its kind next of kin representation service for Childfree people. 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.

Money is one of the top reasons couples split, and almost half of us dodge the conversation entirely to keep the peace. Bri Conn, CFP® and Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® make the case that avoiding it is the actual risk, and they get refreshingly personal about how to do it well, chicken nugget meltdowns and all. They dig into why the fight is almost never about the dollar amount, how a 20 dollar argument and a 100,000 dollar one are the exact same issue wearing different clothes, and why every couple needs a safe pocket of no-judgment "fun money." Along the way they share the specific structures that actually work: the credit report date before things get serious, weekly money dates dressed up with a little life and gratitude, and a single code word that can pause a hard conversation before it boils over. It's honest, funny, and built for anyone designing a shared life on their own terms.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why the argument is almost never about the dollar amount, how a small purchase and a six-figure one can be the identical communication issue, and what to address instead
How to set money boundaries as a couple, what to share and what stays private, and why the boundary around what you tell family and friends matters just as much
Why the person who manages everything solo is setting up a crisis, and how to build a backup so a death, disability, or illness doesn't become an administrative disaster
Why every couple needs a pocket of no-judgment personal money, and how "fun money" protects the relationship from guilt and control
The concrete tools that make hard talks easier, from the credit report date to weekly money dates to a code word that calls a timeout before things escalate
Mentioned in this episode:
Business Insider Article: I'm a childfree and a millionaire. I rent my home, have no plans for full retirement, and want to spend all my money before I die.
Episode Hosts:
Bri Conn, CFP® is a Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth® and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®. She specializes in financial management, life design, and estate planning, with particular focus on LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, drawing on her own early financial challenges and recovery to fuel her work in personal finance education.
Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®, the first of its kind next of kin representation service for Childfree people. He is also the author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
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.

Nobody wants to picture the version of later life where their mind or body stops cooperating, so most people file long-term care under "deal with it later." Jesse Vickey built a whole company on the belief that later is exactly the wrong time to start. The founder of Long Term What? joins Bri Conn, CFP® to make one of the most avoided money conversations feel clear and even a little hopeful, walking through what long-term care actually is, the four ways people pay for it, and why roughly 70 percent of adults will need it while the average long-term care bill already runs about $129,000 a year. For Childfree adults especially, who can't assume an adult child will step in as the default caregiver, the planning window and the health that lets you qualify for coverage are everything. The throughline is one Jesse comes back to again and again: the best time to plan is while you're still healthy enough to have all your options open.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
What long-term care actually means, the two triggers insurers use to define it, and why 70 percent of adults will need care while costs climb around 5 percent a year
The four ways people pay for long-term care, from relying on family to Medicaid to insurance to self-funding, and how to think through which fits your life
Why insurance can act as a psychological "permission slip" to actually accept care, when self-funders often deny it to themselves to preserve their savings
Why a health pre-screen before you formally apply is critical, how a single recorded decline can follow you across insurers, and why your healthy window is the time to act
What to look for in a policy, from benefit length and cash versus reimbursement to rate-increase risk and the new coverage that finally follows you abroad
Episode Guest:
Jesse Vickey is the founder of Long Term What?, a company built on the belief that long-term care is one of the biggest untold stories in America. After graduating from Duke and beginning his career on Wall Street, he left banking to found two mission-driven companies, one using humor to teach college graduates the life skills school never covered, and another connecting busy families with in-home meal prep. Through Long Term What?, he now helps people cut through the confusion of long-term care, learn their options, talk with their families, and build a plan, guiding them through insurance when it's the right fit.
Connect with Jesse Vickey:
Website: longtermwhat.com
 YouTube: Long Term What?
Episode Host:
Bri Conn, CFP® is a Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth® and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®. She specializes in financial management, life design, and estate planning, with particular focus on LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, drawing on her own early financial challenges and recovery to fuel her work in personal finance education.
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.