Women could not open their own bank accounts without a man's signature until 1974. That is not ancient history. The people who lived through it are still alive. And the financial world Childfree women are navigating today was built in that shadow.

In this episode, Bri Conn, CFP® sits down with Grace L. Williams, financial journalist and author of Give Her Credit, to trace the women's banking movement from a living room in Denver to the laws that changed everything. Grace spent nearly a decade researching the founders of Women's Bank, the legislation that finally gave women access to credit, and the remarkable, often overlooked stories of the women who made it happen.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why women's access to credit is recent history that still shapes how Childfree women plan today.
• How the founders of Women's Bank in Denver built something extraordinary within the constraints of their time, and what their stories reveal about financial autonomy, resilience, and the power of collective action.
• Why lenders once required women to disclose their reproductive plans before applying for a loan.
• How access to credit changed the calculus of marriage, independence, and life design for women, and what it means to build a financial life grounded in choice rather than circumstance.
• Why financial rights remain fragile and worth protecting, and what the arc of the women's banking movement can teach us about where we are now and what we stand to lose.

Episode Host:

Bri Conn, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth®, and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®.

Episode Guest:

Grace L. Williams is a financial journalist, content strategist, and author with over 20 years of experience translating complex financial and cultural topics into accessible, engaging narratives. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Yahoo Finance. She is the author of “Give Her Credit” (Little A, 2025), which chronicles the women's banking movement and the rise of female financial empowerment. Grace is an alumna of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and has spent her career following the money to understand what people buy, why they buy it, and what it reveals about culture and power.

Find Grace on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-l-williams-547a054/

Give Her Credit is available at independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Target.

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.

Finances have never been a level playing field for women, and for women who are Childfree, the landscape gets even more specific. It was only 1974 when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act gave women the legal right to open their own credit accounts, and the echoes of that delayed access still shape how women experience wealth, work, and financial security today.

In this episode, Maddy Roche and Bri Conn, CFP®, sit down for an honest conversation about what the numbers actually say about Childfree women and money. From the real cost of single hood to the gender wage gap that nearly disappears among Childfree women, they walk through the data, the disparities, and the roadmap that makes intentional planning possible. They also cover the eight No Baby Steps, with a lens specifically focused on what solo aging and long-term financial independence look like for women without children.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why the "singularity tax" is a real financial challenge for Childfree women, and how the Fidelity study should factor into your planning.
• Why Childfree women have the highest median net worth among any demographic 55 and older, and how understanding that data can help counter the financial anxiety and internalized pressure that so many single women carry.
• How the eight No Baby Steps provide a financial foundation built specifically for Childfree life.
• Why estate planning looks fundamentally different without traditional next of kin, and how tools like wills, living wills, powers of attorney, and a trust protect your autonomy when the healthcare or legal system might otherwise step in.
• How to approach the often-overlooked step of planning for aging parents, and why being proactive protects both you and them.

Episode Hosts:

Maddy Roche is Chief Growth Officer at Childfree Trust® and handles all marketing, growth, and prospect engagement. She understands the challenges of being Childfree as it relates to estate planning and is passionate about educating her community about ways to prepare.

Bri Conn, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth®, and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®.

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.

In this episode, Maddy Roche sits down with Zeena Regis, MDiv, Director of Priority Populations at Compassion and Choices, to explore one of the most requested, and most avoided, conversations in the Childfree community: medical aid in dying.

Zeena brings nearly 20 years of end-of-life experience, beginning as a hospice chaplain and evolving into a national advocate for equitable access to end-of-life options. She and Maddy unpack what medical aid in dying actually is, who it's for, and why having open conversations about death leads to better care for everyone, whether or not medical aid in dying is ever something you'd personally choose.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why medical aid in dying is one option within a broader spectrum of end-of-life care, and what the legal safeguards around it actually look like
• How Childfree adults face unique risks when no healthcare proxy or estate documents are in place.
• How community, storytelling, and even art can open the door to death planning conversations that feel impossible to start alone
• Why having a healthcare proxy who truly knows you and is prepared to advocate for your wishes makes a difference in the quality of your final chapter

Join a Live Q&A with Zeena Regis:

Title: Designing Your End-of-Life: A Live Q&A with Zeena Regis, MDiv

Date: 4/1/2026 Time: 5 PM Eastern

Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_g-AYE_5GR1O2nRM-7l9tCg

Episode Host:

Maddy Roche: Chief Growth Officer at Childfree Trust® and responsible for all sales and marketing initiatives.

Episode Guest:

Zeena Regis, MDiv serves as the Director of Faith Engagement and Priority Populations at Compassion & Choices, improving care, expanding options, and empowering everyone to chart their end-of-life journey. Prior to her role with Compassion & Choices, Zeena served as a chaplain and grief care specialist for over a decade. Zeena also serves on the faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary's Older Adult Ministry Certification program and was selected as a 2024 American Society on Aging Fellow. Zeena is also a playwright, and her latest work, A Free Black Woman's Guide to Death & Dying, was selected for the Synchronicity Theatre's arts incubator project.

Learn more about Compassion and Choices: https://compassionandchoices.org/

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.