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  • Published: 25 March 2025
  • ISBN: 9781728297347
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $32.99

The Childfree Guide to Life and Money




Living a life of childfree wealth means you have the time, money, and freedom to do what you want. Jay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP®, and founder of Childfree Wealth, shares how to plan for the life you want and then figure out a financial plan that will get you there, using his FILE (financial independence, live early) method.

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.

  • Published: 25 March 2025
  • ISBN: 9781728297347
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

Jay Zigmont

JAY ZIGMONT, Ph.D., MBA, CFP® is the founder of Childfree Wealth, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping childfree and permanently childless people. Dr. Jay is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Childfree Wealth Specialist, and author of the book Portraits of Childfree Wealth. His Ph.D. is in Adult Learning from the University of Connecticut, and his MBA is from Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. Jay is regularly seen in the press discussing childfree finances. In 2022, he was featured or mentioned in 240 press articles, podcasts, shows, and more. He lives in Mississippi.

Praise for The Childfree Guide to Life and Money

If building your best life of wealth and prosperity does not include having your own children, Dr. Jay Zigmont’s The Childfree Guide to Life and Money is a must read. Not only does he create a masterful mental framework for childfree wealth creation, but also provides precision when it comes to deploying the necessary tactics. I fully expect this book to become a classic.

Jordan Grumet, author of Taking Stock

Dr. Jay Zigmont offers what I believe is a first of its kind - financial advice geared specifically to those of us without kids. And it is clear he knows what he is talking about. A childfree person himself, Dr. Zigmont understands what makes our lives unique, how our struggles and dreams aren't so different from others', and how we can best harness our strengths and individuality to plan a life of financial independence and future stability

Amy Blackstone, author of Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence

Childfree people aren’t following what he refers to as the ‘Standard LifeScript’: go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, buy a house, send the kids to college, retire. ‘Are we weird?’ he asks. If you are an adventurer, a creative artist or a business owner without children, this book is for you. Filled with stories, statistics and a unique point of view, this book offers sage financial advice to help you craft a life and financial plan that is uniquely yours!

Chellie Campbell, author The Wealthy Spirit and From Worry to Wealthy

Everything about the society we live in assumes we'll have kids, and financial planning is no different. Dr. Jay’s friendly voice and compassionate, no-nonsense advice—and occasionally, his ‘BS detector’—will help childfree and childless folks plan their finances the same way they’ve planned their families: free from societal expectations about what a good, full life should look like. Whether you want to retire early, live a life you love now, or plan for old age without family support, The Childfree Guide to Life and Money is the first of its kind book that will help you get there!

Peggy O’Donnell Heffington, author of Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother

Dr. Jay’s book, much like the man himself, is a real breath of fresh air around life and finances. His sections on the different kinds of thinking/planning applicable to ‘soloists’ (his term) as well as couples, and his clear-eyed look at the emotional and financial issues involved in ageing without children (and the pressure to be the default caregivers for parents) are groundbreaking. Although the financial nuts-and-bolts of this book (taxes, insurance, investments, etc) are aimed at a US audience, there is still plenty of useful and fascinating material to make it well worth reading for all of us without children.

Jody Day, psychotherapist, founder of Gateway Women and author of Living the Life Unexpected: How to Find Hope, Meaning and a Fulfilling Future Without Children
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