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If you choose to forgo life insurance, it might still make sense to include an unmarried partner in a will. Compare life insurance rates online with Ethos Life. If so, then you may need life insurance. Term life insurance is a better choice for most individuals since they don't need coverage for their entire lives. Get Life Insurance Quotes Compare the best life insurance companies with a quote from Ethos Life.

Persons: —, Justin Pritchard, doesn't, Pritchard, Jay Zigmont Organizations: Service, CFP, Childfree

☆ The dark side of DINKs: People who want kids but can't afford them
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Some DINKs are using their higher net worth to retire early, travel, and afford luxury items. But there's an even darker side to DINKs: The slice that forgoes kids not by choice but out of necessity. It's difficult to parse out the exact number of Americans who might want kids but can't have them. We know that the childfree group — people who don't want kids — might be about 20% of the US adult population. It's contributing to a whole population of DINKs who can't afford to shed the moniker.

Persons: DINK, —, you've, Gen Zers, it's, Kimberly Palmer, Kathryn Edwards, Larry Bienz, he's, Bienz, civically, let's, Amelia, Kevin, They've, We're, Amelia's, Roe, Wade, Zachary Neal, Neal, Jennifer Neal, Priscilla Davies, she's, Davies, They're Organizations: Service, Harris, RAND Corporation, American Society for Reproductive, US Children's Bureau, Michigan State Locations: NerdWallet, DINKs, Chicago, Michigan

☆ Meet a millennial DINK who feels like an outlier in a child-centric world
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

None of that was true for her, but today she is part of a double-income, no-kids — or DINK — couple. AdvertisementWhile Michelle and her spouse's parents have been supportive, the couple still feels the weight of a culture that's oriented around having kids. There's also a familiar refrain — one that many DINKs come up against — that it's a selfish decision to forego having kids. AdvertisementShe thinks that being a DINK, and opting into it as a lifestyle choice, needs to be more normalized. Are you a DINK or someone grappling with the realities of a child-centric world?

Persons: Michelle, DINK, —, Michelle didn't, DINK —, They've, She's, it's, Zachary P, Neal, Jennifer Watling Neal, childfree, There's, they're Organizations: Service Locations: DINKs, North Carolina, Europe, Orlando, NerdWallet

☆ DINKs, Couples With No Kids, Are Living the New American Dream
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Bartie Scott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

DINKs are proudly emerging as an aspirational class for young people — and they're ready to live it up. So when she set up her dating profile, Johnson included in her bio that she didn't want to have kids of her own. Amy Blackstone, the author of the 2019 book " Childfree by Choice ," said that the financial gap between DINKs and couples with kids wasn't solely because of the choice about children. DINKs, GINKs, " rich aunties ," and DINKWADs — DINKs with a dog — have become aspirational identities for younger generations. There are the DINKs who can seize the American dream and the parents who are struggling to stay afloat in a country without guaranteed paid leave or affordable childcare .

Persons: Elizabeth Johnson, Johnson, DINK, DINKs, they've, there's, Amy Blackstone, it's, Alex Killingsworth, Killingsworth, Marcia Drut, Davis, Drut, Blackstone, she'd, Gen Z, That's, X didn't, Zachary P, Neal, Jennifer Watling Neal, millennials —, I've, Marcia, she's Organizations: of, Johnsons, Minneapolis townhome, Federal, Consumer Finances, Broadway Locations: Florida, Swiss, Hawaii, Oregon, Canada, Alaska, Dominican Republic, of America, Minneapolis, Texas, New York, Michigan, Drut

While there's no universal minimum credit score to rent an apartment, landlords generally prefer applicants with a good credit score, which is at least 670. While your credit score will suffice for some landlords, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, landlords are also allowed to view your credit reports. The average credit score of a Gen Z consumer is 680 compared to the average baby boomer's credit score of 745. Though these services won't directly help you build credit, keeping track of your credit score is a crucial part of the credit building process. Apartment credit score requirements frequently asked questionsCan you rent an apartment if you do not have credit?

Persons: —, TransUnion, Kendall Meade, Jay Zigmont, Will, Jamela Adam, Read Organizations: Fair, Childfree, Forbes, . News, Mint Intuit Locations: AnnualCreditReport.com, SoFi, Chevron

☆ DINKs in their 50s who are on track to retire early explain what being childfree has meant for their lifestyle and finances
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

They didn't necessarily set out to become DINKs, but it's a lifestyle that's worked well. AdvertisementWendy and Steve Thomas didn't necessarily set out to be DINKs, but it's a lifestyle that's worked out for them. Wendy Thomas, 55, and Steve Thomas, 51, are a California-based couple in a growing legion of Americans who are DINKS — households that are double income, with no kids. It's a lifestyle they "fell into," according to Steve Thomas, who works in the golf maintenance industry. AdvertisementAnd the couple isn't out proselytizing the DINK lifestyle, although it can elicit a lot of questions from strangers.

Persons: Wendy, Steve Thomas, that's, —, Steve Thomas didn't, Wendy Thomas, They've, DINK, she's, Steve, they're, Gen, Zers, DINKs, there's, it's Organizations: Service, redwoods, Census Bureau, Federal Reserve's Survey, Consumer Finances Locations: California, Southern California

☆ Meet a millennial DINK who's grateful for the flexibility of a childfree lifestyle during a medical crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He and his partner chose a wait-and-see approach to having kids. Now dealing with personal hardship, Bernard is grateful a child doesn't have to deal with it, too. From a financial standpoint, being a DINK has meant flexibility — and the ability to spoil his dog "big time." "It's like saving lots of money, a kid versus dog day care, just on a purely financial perspective," he said. Advertisement"This whole experience has made me honestly more grateful to be a DINK than ever," Bernard said.

Persons: Bernard, —, DINK, DINKs, there's, that's, he'd, I've, I'd Organizations: Service

☆ 36-year-old quit her job to write novels—how she and her husband are making it work on one salary
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Soon after they got married in 2022, Heather MacLean and Scott Kyrish decided they needed a financial advisor. "We were both making good money, and we realized we were just putting it in savings," says MacLean. "It didn't take long before Jay started trying to convince me to quit my job," MacLean says. She was making about $52,000 a year and her husband had recently received a salary bump from about $65,000 to about $80,000. "I remembered how much I loved it and thought, 'Maybe I'll give this a shot and see if it can turn into something,'" MacLean says.

Persons: Heather MacLean, Scott Kyrish, MacLean, Kyrish, How's, Jay Zigmont, Zigmont, Jay, NaNoWriMo, She's Locations: Rock , Texas, Hale Harbor

☆ This underused savings tool could earn you guaranteed 5.5% interest—but you'll want to act quickly
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

With CDs, you deposit a specific amount of money for a fixed period of time — months or years — at a guaranteed rate of interest. While you can't prematurely withdraw those funds without paying a penalty, the trade-off is that CDs tend to offer higher interest rates than most savings accounts. That's much higher than the average annual percentage yield you'll find for traditional savings accounts, which was 0.57% as of Jan. 16, 2024, per Bankrate. While high-yield savings might offer APRs more comparable to CDs, you can often find CDs with slightly higher rates. Some CDs also offer higher yields than one-year Treasury bonds, which are comparably safe investments.

Persons: Gen Zers, Jay Zigmont Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Childfree

☆ Not having children 'breaks' traditional financial planning, says CFP—8 money rules for childfree people
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

If you don't have children — and don't plan on having any — the normal rules of personal finance don't necessarily apply to you. Unless you have major financial obligations your spouse couldn't bear if you died, "it's very rare that childfree people will need life insurance," says Zigmont. Another major consideration: long-term care insurance. "[Considering long-term care insurance] something I want people to be doing by about their mid-forties. And the reason for that is that's when long-term care insurance is the most reasonable.

Persons: Jay Zigmont, Dave Ramsey, Zigmont, childfree, —, It's, Dad You've, You'll Organizations: Genworth, Medicaid

☆ Meet the typical DINK: They have over $200,000 in the bank and aren't paying for pricey childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Their ranks are only growingA millennial couple moving into their new home. Getty ImagesDINKs are not a huge share of the population, but they've been on the rise. Among unmarried couples, that figure is slightly up from 2019, per ACS , when 4.4% of the population was cohabiting couples not living with a child under 18. That's higher than the one in 10 women who were in the same boat as of 1976. And 16.5% of adults 55 and older were childless as of 2018.

Persons: they've Organizations: Getty, Survey, US

☆ The forever labor shortage is pitting parents and their childfree coworkers against each other
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Childfree workers told Business Insider they often feel pressured to cover for parents at work. Benson's not alone in experiencing the tension of splitting work between childfree workers and those with kids. For childfree workers, it may lead to resentment, or feeling like their time isn't as valuable. And that might, in turn, lead to childfree workers being asked to take on more. But the childfree workers, parents, and experts that Business Insider spoke with say that making it a worker-to-worker dispute takes the onus off of companies and policy.

Persons: —, Kira Benson, Benson, Benson's, isn't, tenable, It's, aren't, Amanda Pericles, JessieMay Reed, they've, I'm, Benson doesn't, Arindrajit Dube, Claudia Goldin, Dube, " Dube, Evi, Nardi, Pericles, Pericles isn't, Reed, Kitty Richards, Richards, Betsy Cardenas, She's, Cardenas, we're Organizations: Business, Service, Bloomberg Law, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Treasury Department, of Labor Statistics, monopsony Locations: Seattle, —

☆ Millennials are the reason you can still work remotely
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Millennials are powering the continued remote work boom, and are more likely to be remote. While Gen Zers and boomers want to go in, millennials are opting to work from home. Going into the office is a desire that cuts across generational lines, unifying groups that aren't often in alignment: Gen Zers, Gen Xers, and boomers. That data paints a clearer picture of how remote work has created new segments of workers. Of course, remote work has been life-changing for some .

Persons: Gen Zers, —, Nick Bloom, Zers, Gen Xers, Bloom, José María Barrero, Steven J, Davis, Stanford, Charles Bond Organizations: Service, Stanford, People, Workers Locations: Southern California, Plenty

☆ There's never been a better time to be a DINK
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One variant of the DINK is the DINKWAD , double income couples without kids — but with a dog. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Some of those savings might ripple into an accumulation and increase in net worth," Heggeness said. What's more, the cost of raising one child to their high school years is estimated to be $310,605 — the bulk of a median DINK's net worth. For instance, single Americans with children have seen their net worth more than double over the last decade, and their net worth is outpacing younger, childless singles. Now, that rise in net worth might be due to the changing dynamics of how single parents are arriving at their destination.

Persons: DINK, —, childlessness, they're, Misty Heggeness, Nobody, weren't, Heggeness, JP Morgan, Nicole Valdez, it's, Jasmen Rogers Organizations: Service, Federal Reserve's Survey, Consumer Finances, University of Kansas, Survey

☆ Adjustable-rate mortgages are making a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, the average rate for a kind of adjustable rate mortgage — a 5/1 ARM — dropped to 6.33% from 6.49%. (Freddie Mac, which provides an average that CNN covers weekly, does not track interest rates for adjustable rate mortgages). When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow. Fixed rate vs ARMWhile the overwhelming share of loans are still fixed-rate mortgages, ARMs are becoming more attractive in the current higher-rate environment. Generally, homeowners with higher mortgage rates will pay more in interest rather than principal for a longer time than those with lower interest rates.

Persons: —, Freddie Mac, ”, Bob Broeksmit, Melissa Cohn, Cohn, National Association of Home Builders —, ” Cohn, Kaylin Dillon, Jay Zigmont, ’ ” Zigmont, you’re Organizations: DC CNN, Mortgage, Association, CNN, “, ARM, Fed, Federal Reserve, William, Treasury, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors, National Association of Home Builders, Childfree Locations: Washington, Israel, Kansas, Mississippi

☆ Why more women are choosing to be child-free
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Demographers point to a number of factors driving this phenomenon: economic insecurity, political uncertainty, shifting gender norms and a lessening stigma around the choice to remain child-free. In the past, women who could have been inclined to remain child-free might have given birth anyway because that is what society expected from them. Even so, women who choose to remain child-free say they still feel like they constantly have to explain their choices to others. Women who opt to remain child-free say they still experience judgment for their choices. The assumption that child-free women don’t care about children simply isn’t true either, some say.

Persons: CNN — Dyanna Volek, “ I’m, ”, Volek, “, doesn’t, don’t, Cecilia Sanders, Sanders, ’ ”, Amy Blackstone, ” Blackstone, “ We’ve, we’ve, Yana Grant, Yana Grant “, ” Grant, Grant, They’re, Graves, Jordan Levey, Levey, they’d, wasn't, Jordan Levey “, —, ” Sanders, Blackstone, They’ve, they’ll, couldn’t, ’ Organizations: CNN, Centers for Disease Control, University of Maine, US, Getty Locations: San Francisco, Chicago, Tulsa , Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Washington

☆ What Is Cash Value Life Insurance and Is It Worth It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

What is cash value life insurance? Although you’ll see insurance companies advertise various life insurance products, all policies can be divided into two categories: term and cash value. How your policy’s cash value worksCash value life insurance is so named because of its ability to build cash value. Types of cash value coverageThere are two main types of cash value insurance:Whole lifeWhole life insurance is the most popular form of cash value insurance. Universal lifeUniversal life policies are more flexible than whole life policies.

Persons: Kat Tretina, you’re, PolicyGenius, Jay Zigmont, “, they’re, ” Zigmont, Andrew Latham, you’ll, ”, Latham Organizations: Universal, American Council of Locations: Water Valley, Miss, Santa Ana, Calif

Debt-settlement companies negotiate with credit card companies on your behalf when you have multiple missed paymentsDebt-settlement companies work as go-betweens that negotiate with your creditors to reduce or eliminate the amount you owe. Mitchell's credit card debt spun out of control because of compound interestLike many Americans, the source of Mitchell's money problems was too much credit card debt. Without refinancing or outside help, it can be practically impossible to get out of credit card debt. A common strategy to get out of credit card debt faster is to refinance your debt into a personal loan with simple interest. "When you are seriously overdue on credit card debt, usually 90 days or more, you may be able to negotiate to pay off your debt for less.

Garcia tells Insider, "I was inputting some numbers into a retirement calculator, and it let me put in my age. Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Low annual fee for investment accounts; crypto trust investments available Check mark icon A check mark. Tax-loss harvesting Check mark icon A check mark. Mobile app and investing and retirement tools Check mark icon A check mark.

The Biden administration has extended the student loan repayment pause into 2023. Insider's Featured Student Loan Refinance Companies SoFi Student Loan RefinancingSplash Financial Student Loan RefinancingEarnest Student Loan Refinancing Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. If you make student loan payments during the pause, all the money goes toward reducing the principal. Here's how much you could have saved had you continued to make regular student loan payments throughout the duration of the repayment pause. "When student loan payments start again, many are in for a rough time," Zigmont said.

☆ A 40-year-old physical therapist got $222,000 in student loans forgiven through PSLF and used 2 tax strategies to pay as little as possible along the way
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Leo Aquino | Read More | Read Less | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Low annual fee for investment accounts; crypto trust investments available Check mark icon A check mark. Tax-loss harvesting Check mark icon A check mark. Mobile app and investing and retirement tools Check mark icon A check mark. Retirement contributions work to lower AGI in a similar way.

☆ If you're not planning to have kids, you can rethink 'the whole foundation' of your financial plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"Most, if not all, financial rules of thumb assume you have kids," says Jay Zigmont, a certified financial planner and author of "Portraits of Childfree Wealth." Take the possibility of kids out of the equation, and "the whole foundation of your financial plan changes." If you're still aiming for traditional financial landmarks, such as retiring at 65, you may be following someone else's financial "life script" that doesn't match up with your goals, Zigmont says. Here are three strategies Zigmont, who specializes in advising childfree clients, says childfree people can employ, even though they deviate from the standard advice. And to be clear, just because you're not spending your money on children doesn't mean it's OK to abandon core financial principles altogether.

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