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.

Here are 3 financial resources that you should avoid using to fund your family’s adoption:

1. Mortgage or Rent
Using your mortgage or rent payment towards an adoption is a risky financial idea. After all, if you’re adopting, you’ll need a place to live! You’ll need to create and cultivate a home environment that is stable and secure. You could end up losing a lot more than you ever imagined when you start using the money that should be going towards your house.

2. Payday Loan
Using a “payday loan” allows you to get your full paycheck in before your actual pay date. This might sound like a great financial tool, especially if you’re in a rush to adopt. However, since you’re already are low on money, the odds are you have little to no reserves if you’re even considering this. You’re likely to fall into debt once you start using this type of loan. This is because payday loans come with very high interest rates and you can almost never “catch up”. Living paycheck-to-paycheck is not a great start for your new family.

3. Title Loan
Giving away the title to your car is one of the most financially risky plans to follow. You need your car to get from point A to point B. Without a car, it may be almost impossible for you to get to work. If you have one missed payment, you might end up losing your car. It can put an emotional strain on you, in knowing that the car isn’t really “yours.” It’s totally not worth it! Your future child shouldn’t be brought into a situation where their adoptive parents are so financially burdened. The stress of all this will seep into other areas of your life and even to your child.

As adoptive parents, you have the responsibility to give your child the best imaginable start with your family. Your arms might be aching for a child, but you don’t want to bring one into your life at a time of financial stress. Once you have a better idea how much money you’ll need to fund the adoption, try more positive ways to raise funds. Visit Lifetime’s link about Financing Your Adoption to get ideas on how to afford adoption.