Happy International Childfree day 2016

Today is August 1st.

I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by.
 It's the third week of term two of university as well, and I have mere weeks left before exams and then months off before Graduation!
I feel like I'm on a roller coaster right now.

This week's blog is all about being Childfree because today--
August 1st is International Childfree Day.
One day each year internationally recognised to celebrate Childfree and Childless couples.

Who are the childfree and childless?
You probably know a few of them yourself - that young couple who live down the road, newly married or they just moved in together and they don't have children yet.

They may have a fur child or pet ... or maybe it's just the two of them living there.

Maybe they are like Dan and I living with other adults in a flatting situation.

Maybe they own the home they moved into.

The reason for no children in the home could vary, it's always personal and not to be asked about outright.

Childfree and Childless couples look a little different - 
There's circumstantial childlessness where one or both in the couple cannot have a child for biological reasons, maybe infertility. Maybe they have been dealing with multiple miscarriages and don't want to talk about it. Maybe they have a medical condition that would be passed on and they don't want that to happen. Maybe they just don't want to pass on any medical conditions from within their family...

Or they chose not to have a child - this is childfreedom and it looks a little different than that I described above... Maybe they can't afford to have a child. Or perhaps their career, life style or finances dictate that they shouldn't have a child. They may have huge student loan or personal loan debt that they want to pay off before moving into a new owned home or travel or other endeavors.

But what about Regret?Regret is the biggest BINGO I've been given time and time again. Like I will one day be an old lady next to Daniel in a rest home and who will come visit us? Where will our children be - oh without children who will take care of us? My response has been for years - Oh but having a child does not mean they will be there for you when you're old. Once they're an adult and leave home you can't expect them to come back and do everything for you.

There have been multiple articles about this here and here is a blogger who talks about it more.

Elsewhere -
In some cultures there is an obligation on children to care for their elderly parents, and for us this is no different. Of course I wish my parents good health and all those things - of course I want to help make sure they are looked after... and at the same time for my own future I am trying to put things in place now - creating a Will, putting aside money for Retirement funds (I happen to use KiwiSaver in New Zealand) with voluntary payments being paid into there as well as whatever I'd earn from working. (I'm currently a student so not working, hence putting in voluntary payments).
Daniel is doing the same thing.

No-one can expect a handout just because they are old. For years now there have been talks about the Retirement funds drying up. So yeah, when we get to retire we won't get much at all.

Until next week,
xo Lisa.

Blog posts from my blog about our Childfree life:
Three years ago Daniel and I both wrote posts about being Childfree in New Zealand.
His can be found here.
Update in 2015 here.