April 2016 Newsletter

Are you a child-free couple by choice or chance who wants to create or maintain an epic relationship?

Couples can register now for the upcoming online GLOBAL telesummit where 21+ experts will teach you how to co-create a lifestyle you love, to impact the world with your gifts, and to create the EPIC relationship of a lifetime.  

Couples will discover:

-How to enjoy a fulfilling & connected love life – unlike anything you’ve ever had.

-Strategies for financial freedom to travel the world, purchase a home, or start your business. (or all three!)

-To release the guilt & shame of being a DINK (double income, no kids) couple and live confidently with your child free choice or circumstance.

-Shoot, maybe you just want to stop fighting with your partner!

Click here for full summit details, and to register.  The summit begins April 11th so register now to reserve your spot.

Quick-Step: 10 Ways to Entertain Kids on a Road Trip

What It Is: 10 fun activities you can do in the car with your kids on your spring break road trip.

Why we need this: Road trips with kids can quickly turn into feeling like a punishment for the parents rather than a vacation. The last time we traveled to Vegas, I personally got out of the car at Barstow and told the kids I’d rather walk through the desert than spend another minute in the car listening to them fight.  Not my best moment!  By having a game plan in advance, we can make sure the kids have more than enough activities to keep them occupied and hopefully avoid any meltdowns, from the children or from the parents.

Estimated time: 20 minutes per activity.  Keep rotating them through so kids don’t lose interest.

How to do it: Choose any or all of the activities below to keep your kids occupied on your next road trip.

1. Watch Movies. This is a no-brainer. Just remember to bring headphones for them so you don’t have to hear the movie.  Or, bring some for yourself so you can listen to music. Just remember that the driver can only have one ear phone in while driving. Also, RedBox allows you to rent movies at one location and return them at another, so it can be fun to rent a movie and then return it when you arrive at your next pit stop.
2. The IPAD. Playing video games is also a no-brainer. Just remember to bring enough chargers so they can last. Order a car charging device that allows you to charge multiple devices at once.
3. Lingo Plate Game. Have your kids read off the letters in a license plate and then make up what the letters stands for.  This is super easy and fun and also gives you great insight into your child’s brain.  For example, "OEF" might stand for "Onion-Eating Fanatic" or "Original Elephant Farm."
4. Slug Bug.  This is an old school game where you gently hit each other in the arm when you see a Volkswagen beetle.  To keep it modern, try playing “Tesla”.
5. The Celebrity Game. One person thinks of the name of a current celebrity (must say first and last name). The next player then must come up with a different celebrity whose first name begins with first letter of the previous celebrity's last name. (i.e. Player one: Ellen DeGeneres; Player Two: Denzel Washington). Put a 10 second time limit for each response to keep it competitive.
6. The Quiet Game / Last Word Game. The quiet game is awesome because the whole point is to see what child sits silent the longest.  The last word game has kids pick a word and say it back and forth, each time more quietly, to the point where one player says it so quietly the other person misses it, and therefore wins the game.
7. Where Are We? Print off a map and then have the kids look at highway signs to determine where they are, and then mark off or color the different cities as you pass through them until you reach your destination.
8. Animal Spotting. Who can locate the most animals during the trip? Any creature that moves (or once moved) can be fair game, so to speak: deer, livestock, birds (get them to name specific types), road kill and even sun-dried insects caught between the dashboard and windshield can be counted. Make this as competitive or non-competitive as the situation warrants -- perhaps put up a small prize to encourage everyone to participate.
9. Toy Bribes. Give your kids incentive for good behavior.  At each pit stop, give them an inexpensive toy or buy them a piece of candy until you reach your destination.
10. Sing Along/Name that Tune.  It seems a little cheesy, but kids love to sing and it’s fun for adults too.  Hum a well-known tune and give a point to the first child who names that tune. Or turn on the AUX button in your car to connect with youtube on your phone and start playing songs they can sing along to.

These tips appeared in “10 Ways to Entertain Kids on a Trip”, written by Akweli Parker, and published in the lifestyle section of How Things Work.  

I got a call recently from my good friend, Robyn D’Angelo.  She’s a couples therapist and relationship coach known as the Happy Couple Expert.

Robyn was calling to invite me to speak, along with 21+ experts from different fields, at an upcoming online GLOBAL Summit for DINKS– which refers to couples who have Double Income No Kids.

My initial response was “Robyn, you do know that I have a million kids and that I’m known in my industry for helping families with young children?”  But, as she pointed out, our estate planning strategies are useful to every adult who wants to take control of their future, not just parents.

I want to share with you here, the top 5 estate planning strategies for all of the DINKS you know out there, that I’ll be talking about at the GLOBAL summit that starts April 11^th. 

By the way, if you are a DINK couple by choice or chance, or know a fabulous DINK couple who wants to create an epic relationship with their partner, you can click here to learn more about the GLOBAL summit and register.

Here are the top 5 estate planning strategies child-free couples should consider:

Click here to read the 5 tips.