3 Investment Hacks You Can Afford by Not Having Kids

Having children is hardly an inexpensive prospect. From extra food to sports to college, you might spend a massive amount of money raising kids, even if you do your best to make frugal choices.

As such, people who decide to adopt a child-free lifestyle often have more financial flexibility than those who are parents. And if that's the situation you're in, here are three investment opportunities you can take advantage of.

1. Maxing out an IRA or 401(k)

It's hard to set money aside for retirement -- or at least a lot of it -- when you have constant child-related expenses to cover. So if you don't have kids, you may be in a good place to max out your IRA or 401(k) this year.

If you're under the age of 50, you can put up to $23,000 into a 401(k) plan or up to $7,000 into an IRA in 2024. If you're 50 or older, these limits increase to $30,500 and $8,000, respectively.

No matter what type of IRA or 401(k) you fund, you get tax benefits. With a traditional IRA or 401(k), your contributions are tax-free and investment gains are tax-deferred (meaning you're not taxed year after year, but only as you take withdrawals).

With a Roth IRA or 401(k), there's no tax break on contributions, but investment gains and withdrawals are tax-free. Keep funding your account, and you may find that you're able to retire early with a large pile of money.

In fact, let's say you contribute $1,500 a month to a 401(k) over 30 years (not quite maxing out, but close). If your portfolio generates an average annual 10% return, which is in line with the stock market's average, you'll end up with almost $3 million.

2. Buying real estate

Real estate can be a great investment for a couple of reasons. Not only can property values grow over time, but you can rent out properties for regular income.

As a parent, you may not have the time to oversee rental properties -- especially if you have a full-time job. But if you don't have kids monopolizing your time, you might be able to swing the duties of a landlord, allowing you to profit from your rental income without losing a chunk of that money to property manager fees.

3. Funding an HSA and leaving your balance untapped

If you're enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan, you may be eligible to contribute to an HSA. Like with traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans, HSA contributions go in tax-free. You can also invest HSA funds you don't need right away and enjoy tax-free gains. Withdrawals in these accounts are also tax-free, as long as that money is spent on qualifying medical expenses.

When you have kids, you may be more likely to incur medical costs, forcing you to take HSA withdrawals to cover those expenses. If you're child-free, your medical bills may not be as high. In that case, it may be possible to cover your healthcare expenses out of your paycheck and leave your HSA untouched so your money can grow tax-free for many years.

Another nice thing about HSAs is that once you turn 65, you won't face penalties for non-medical withdrawals. So if you end up with a huge HSA balance come retirement and you don't need all of it for healthcare expenses, you can use some, or even all, of that money for any purpose that pleases you.

Raising children can be a rewarding experience, but it's not for everyone. If you've opted out of having kids, you may be able to afford a lot of things that parents just can't swing. And so it definitely pays to take advantage of the opportunity to invest your money and accumulate a lot of wealth.