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Tips, freebies, event invites, and more to make your Childfree life even more amazing

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Insights Straight to Your Inbox

Tips, freebies, event invites, and more to make your Childfree life even more amazing

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This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Scott Barnes

CFP®, TPCP, CLTC

Childfree Wealth Specialist®

Scott Barnes is Childfree Insights's resident expert in insurance and long-term care.

He's a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and Childfree Wealth Specialist® with more than 20 years' experience guiding clients through complex financial markets, from the height of the dot-com bubble and 9/11 to the Great Recession, COVID-19, and other ongoing global economic uncertainties.

His passion for financial planning is deeply personal: He grew up middle class in Virginia, and after losing his mother to breast cancer at an early age, he witnessed firsthand the financial strain a family can endure. Later, like many young adults, he faced his own challenges with credit card and student loan debt. His journey to financial independence ignited a desire to help others take control of their financial futures.

Today he focuses on helping Childfree individuals and families align their life goals with smart financial planning strategies for retirement, sabbaticals, international relocation, or long-term care.

He lives near Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife, Etta, and their spirited cat, Louise (Weezie!). When he's not working with clients, you'll likely find him under the hood of a car or enjoying a drive with fellow enthusiasts.

Episode 201: Finding Friendship and Community as a Childfree Adult

When you are a Childfree adult, no one hands you a built-in community, so you build it intentionally. Melissa Holcombe, DSW, LCSW, Maddy Roche, Bri Conn, CFP®, and Alli Gage share honest stories of rebuilding their circles after divorce, sobriety, and big moves, plus the practical habits that turn strangers into the crew you actually do life with.

Episode 200: Building a Small Business as a Childfree Entrepreneur

Being Childfree shapes how you build a business, from the money you reinvest to the hours you keep to the question of what you’re building toward. Jena Gribble of Blush Cactus and Huzefa Kapadia of Scalar Learning join Bri Conn, CFP® to talk about what that’s really looked like, the freedom, the trade-offs, and how it changes what a business can become.

Episode 199: What Women Need to Know About Money and Starting a Business

In the United States, only 15 banks are women-owned. Ilaria Rawlins, CEO of Fortuna Bank, joins Bri Conn, CFP® to talk about why female entrepreneurs face a capital gap that most people do not even know exists, and what she built to change it.

Episode 198: Solo Aging for Childfree Adults: How to Plan Before You Need To

Most people assume that if they don’t have kids, someone will figure it out when the time comes. Carol Marak has spent over a decade proving that the people who age well alone are the ones who plan for it on purpose. She joins Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® to talk about the three questions every soloist needs answered, why finances anchor the whole plan, and how to build a support system before a crisis forces the issue.

Episode 197: Small Business 101: Starting an AI-Proof Business After 50

The next wave of AI-driven job displacement does not have to derail your plans. For Childfree adults over 50, it might just be the push you needed. Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® and Alli Gage break down what it actually takes to start a small business in the second half of life and how to use AI to make it work for you from day one.

Episode 196: Dementia-Proofing Your Future

Planning for aging is not something most people do until they are already in the middle of a crisis. Jennifer Crowley, registered nurse and certified life care planner, joins Bri Conn, CFP® and Melissa Holcombe, DSW, LCSW to talk about what proactive life care planning actually looks like for Childfree and solo aging adults who want to stay in control of their own story.