Is it reasonable to get started before saving "enough"?

sarahtoledo

Sorry if this is a dumb question...  I was talking to my mom about how I would like to get started with a home study, but would hate to be waiting for a match and not have enough saved yet to proceed if we ended up matching quickly.  We are aggressively saving, but we won't have the entire amount for 6-12 months.  Mom said to go for it and that she and my dad would help if need be.

I just wondered if others went ahead before saving every penny they needed?

TIA 

 

bumpuser794640

We plan on starting the process (application, seminar, homestudy) in January or so.  We will definitely not have all of the $ saved by then, but will have at least the amount needed to get us on "the list".  The rest of our fee isn't due until placement occurs, so we will still have some time to continue saving, and my ILs have offered to help us out if we get placed before we have the entirety of our fees saved.  This is a risk we are willing to take, but not everyone is comfortable borrowing from (or receiving financial assistance NOT expected to be repaid from) family.

MommaT357

We have already started and have not saved the full amount yet.  It may be a little different since we are doing international adoption and have a good idea of when different amounts are due.

 We are praying the tax credit is extended... 

MarionB79

We started the adoption process at the same time we started saving. Taking classes and completing the homestudy took a few months anyways. 

I'd say go for it. Especially if your parents would be able to help you out in case you need some help. We did it the same way, but where able to save everything. We also did some fundraisers that helped and to be honest the good Lord simply blessed us with amazing family and friends that all helped. Now we are just waiting for our baby to find us!

Good luck! 

kellyrn9956

We have the full amount for our the faciliator's fees and home study costs. We would need to save the money for the lawyer fees. Our facilitator recommends that we not even retain a lawyer until a match is made (does this sound reasonable?), so we figure we'll have time to save that. We are also capping our birth mother expenses, so we should be able to anticipate those costs as well. If things happen too quickly, MIL and FIL have offered the money as a gift.

Our issue is that I refuse to drop our savings to below a certain amount. We need that cushion in there in case of things like unexpected home repairs or H not having enough work (he's a self-employed contractor). Which is why we have moved our home study to October rather than August. I don't want to start out broke with a newborn.

I think it all depends on your comfort level with borrowing money or accepting a gift.

missred75

Ditto PPs. We paid for the home study and the initial marketing fees (which is the majority of the money needed). We still don't have enough for the lawyers fees, but they aren't due until placement. If need be, we will beg, borrow, and steal to get the rest of the money if we don't have it when we are matched. We'll figure it out somehow.

ellekae

We have nowhere near "enough" at this point; we're just going on faith that we will raise what we need. We have about $2k in cash, and our current fundraiser looks like it will bring in about $1k... We are counting on some interest free loans and grants to help us a bit. It makes me nervous to think about it, but I have to trust that we will figure something out... Or I will go crazy from worrying!

potatohead

We took out a loan in case we get matched before we are able to raise all the money needed.  We are paying back the loan through garage sales, my direct sales business, and (hopefully) more donations.  I wish I were a better fundraiser. It's difficult when trying to raise money for yourself.

baze2

I agree with PP. I think you need to decide if you are willing to take a loan (or can get one) or to receive money from family.

Our story is totally different. We have the money in a special account waiting. We had this account for IF and have been adding to it since we started. Yes I wish I had the money that has passed through the account but I don't..

 

MauidAims

Great question as I wonder that too. We have about 3/4 of it that we would use for IVF. The rest we will save for or I will withdraw some of my old 401ks sitting around. Even with the penalty fees, etc I think it is worth it (Im sure Suze Orman says different. lol).  May I ask what are these fundraisers you all mention??

meganroselee

GnomeSweetGnome:

We plan on starting the process (application, seminar, homestudy) in January or so.  We will definitely not have all of the $ saved by then, but will have at least the amount needed to get us on "the list".  The rest of our fee isn't due until placement occurs, so we will still have some time to continue saving, and my ILs have offered to help us out if we get placed before we have the entirety of our fees saved.  This is a risk we are willing to take, but not everyone is comfortable borrowing from (or receiving financial assistance NOT expected to be repaid from) family.

This. I was still in residency when we were approved and on the waitlist and didn't make much money. We are savers though and had roughly half the balance due when we signed with our agency. We figured we would gladly use credit cards to pay the balance owed if by some miracle we matched quickly. It turned out we waited 11mth from the time we were approved and waiting to the time that we got our son and the money.was due which gave us time to save up the balance in cash. This process can take so long, I say if you have half (or a good start) and a plan for aggressively saving the rest/being about to use credit for the rest, start the process. GL!

Reilly626

How much do you need? I think it's ridiculous that you need $- you are doing something wonderful! I guess that's why a friend of mine adopts through Dyfus.

sarahtoledo

Reilly626:

How much do you need? I think it's ridiculous that you need $- you are doing something wonderful! I guess that's why a friend of mine adopts through Dyfus.

The agencies we're considering have fees from $11-15K.  It's a lot for us, but it's not much compared to other agencies... 

msditz00

I have no advice since we are adopting through DCF, just wanted to wish you luck! 

 

Dr.Loretta

We waited. DH is a big planner, our SW told us to have the match fee available, and we were selling a property that would give us what we needed.

Had we had family who offered even a loan, we may have started sooner. That was not an option for us.

Dr.Loretta

Reilly626:

How much do you need? I think it's ridiculous that you need $- you are doing something wonderful! I guess that's why a friend of mine adopts through Dyfus.

Clearly you don't understand the adoption process.

erinmc1

We didn't have nearly enough saved, but we also owned our home free and clear.  So we got a home equity line of credit.  We figured that made us no different than people with a lot of savings, but who had a mortgage.

adoptivemama

We saved just enough to get us through the home study phase. My parents volunteered to loan us the money, if need be, so we have that safety net. We've saved about $6k in the last 5 months since then, and we have about $9k to go still. We're still sitting pretty high on the wait list, so I am sure we'll have plenty of time to save up that last $9k, unfortunately.