Trying to afford adoption is a common worry among hopeful parents. There’s the home study fee, adoption professional’s fees, travel costs, and legal fees. And sometimes birth mother expenses. So what can you do?
Today, we’re giving you 5 useful and practical tips that you can start following today, to get you closer to your adoption!
1. Make responsible financial decisions
If you’re thinking about taking out a second mortgage or borrowing from your retirement fund, keep your adoption goals in mind. Speak with a financial planner or a relative or friend who’s financially savvy. If you make irresponsible financial decisions now, it’ll have a negative impact on your finances in the future.
2. Start cutting back
Before you ask other people to donate towards your adoption, start cutting back on the extras. Your “extras” might be daily trips to Starbucks, cable TV, dining out, or memberships that you don’t use often. Take some time to decide what’s actually essential. Then, you can use the money you were spending on those things to save up for your adoption.
3. Sell unneeded items
Start a collection of the stuff you don’t need or don’t use. Selling some of it might make you money! We’re thinking bigger items or a vintage collection of something. By selling these things, you’ll get more space for all the baby stuff, and you’ll make money so that you can afford adoption!
4. Consider taking a second job
Start working another job on the weekends or evenings, sell products on Etsy, or offer a service such as tutoring. But be wary of “pyramid schemes” which mean a lot of work for little payoff. If you do choose direct sales, check out the company’s reputation and ensure that it doesn’t require a lot of up-front investment from you.
5. Fundraise
Adoption fundraising can be very effective. To get ideas for your adoption fundraiser, check out Facebook groups or do a Google search. Some options are selling t-shirts, puzzle fundraisers, auctions, dinners, or yard sales. Connect with others who held successful adoption fundraisers in the Facebook groups, and copy what they did.
“Why should we pay adoption fees up front, before we have a match? I have a friend who is adopting too, and she says that her agency only asks for part of the fee up front. And then once they’re matched, they pay the rest of the fee. Why should we be paying an adoption agency in advance?”
Are you preparing to have professional photos taken for your adoption profile? Or maybe you’ve set an in-person meeting with your home study provider and want to look presentable. Looking good and saving money on a manicure is possible with this simple tip. It’ll help you feel confident, while at the same time save money for your adoption budget.
Many hopeful adoptive couples have found that they need to allocate more funds to go through the process. Domestic adoption does come with the potential of a high price tag since there are so many people working on your behalf. Money may be standing in the way for you to realize your dream of adoption. Today, we’re sharing about a few financial tools that you should avoid using to afford adoption. If you do, your long-term financial profile and your family will be negatively affected.
Many adoptive parents have asked us, “I’ve heard adoption is expensive. How can we afford adoption?”
Many waiting adoptive have successfully used the “Envelope Fundraiser” to fund their adoptions. It’s pretty easy and can lead to lots of money raised. With the Envelope Fundraiser, you set a certain amount of envelopes to offer (100 to 200) and write numbers on each, starting with #1. You can either show them in a public place like your church’s lobby or do an online version.
