Looking into #2... financing, fundraisers, loans???

wille2b · January 2011

can anyone or does anyone want to share how they financed it? Our ds was a very simple private adoption costing less the 10k... that was reasonable and doable... now we are looking at about 22k.. how did you go about raising money or for lack of a better word- finding the money??

TIA

forensicmama · January 2011

Your little boy is adorable!!! Here's a blog I followed for quite a while, which chronicles how they brought their little girl over from Eastern Europe and the fund raisers that they did. I hope you bring home #2 soon!

https://www.bringingkellseyhome.com/

Go_Dawgs · January 2011

We used almost all of our savings (but didn't dip into retirement) for #1. Spending even $20k for #2 and #3 (we want three) just isn't going to be an option.

There is a local agency where I live that charges only $10,000 for adoptions of AA and part AA children. If the adoption tax credit still exists when we are ready to adopt #2 (hopefully in about a year, maybe sooner) and the fees for this agency are still the same, we will probably go this route as after the credit the adoption won't have cost us anything. If the tax credit expires or the agency fees are much higher, we will probably foster to adopt.

Temp206787500007404 · January 2011

jennyk213:
We're hoping to be around that if we don't do foster-to-adopt. We'd like to save about $8-9k before we start the process and then apply for a home equity line of credit that we can use if we get matched right away. In the meanwhile, we'll just keep saving. If we end up using the home equity line and the adoption tax credit is still around, we'll be able to pay it off easily.
I keep thinking that most people take out a loan for a car and a baby is much more important than a car. But maybe that's just my messed up way of justifying a poor financial decision. Who knows.

The only problem with this line of reasoning is that a car loan is secured...meaning if you default, they take your car. A loan for a baby is much more difficult, as they can't exactly repossess the kid if you don't pay. In this economy, banks who are making personal loans are few and far between. A HELOC is definitely a possibility if you've got the equity in your home (but most people don't as housing values have fallen below what they already own on their primary mortgages), but it's going to be tough to walk into a bank and ask for a personal loan for any amount these days. It's possible, but I don't think it's as widespread as it was just a couple of years ago when loans marketed as adoption loans were easy to come by.

Many credit card limits have/are being slashed by lenders after the credit card reform that occurred in 2010...as the government cracked down on the cc companies, they began raising interest rates and then subsequently cutting credit. So if you were depending on a credit card to finance your adoption and had the credit sitting out there, you might have found it cut last year.

Again, possible to finance your adoption...but not easy or probable these days.

Temp206787500007404 · January 2011

Wille -- to answer your original question, we saved for 85%, the other 15% was fundraisers (calendar and raffle) and donations from family and friends. Ours was a private adoption that was much less than an agency adoption as well. The 85% should have covered the entire thing with some wiggle room, but in the last trimester, we had additional expenses pop up.

silliestbunny · January 2011

I am surprised at how much we saved by just saving. We kept reminding ourselves that we were on an adoption-money-diet. We were definitely overspending prior to this moneydiet so that helped. But we cut out all sorts of extras. We also held a few garage sales... not really for the adoption fund but rather to clear space in the house. However, in doing so, it helped keep us moving towards our goal of saving money for adoption.

Have you considered private adoption again? I have a friend here in CA that coaches families through private adoption. She's successfully adopted two children herself, and through her efforts to find her two children, she's connected four other families with babies... including US! The cost of MJ's adoption was about 1/7th of what were anticipating through our other sources. If you are interested in talking with my friend, let me know and I'll connect. Although she is now doing it as a business, I know she'd be more than willing to at least have a conversation with you.

TefLepOM · January 2011

silliestbunny:

Have you considered private adoption again? I have a friend here in CA that coaches families through private adoption. She's successfully adopted two children herself, and through her efforts to find her two children, she's connected four other families with babies... including US! The cost of MJ's adoption was about 1/7th of what were anticipating through our other sources. If you are interested in talking with my friend, let me know and I'll connect. Although she is now doing it as a business, I know she'd be more than willing to at least have a conversation with you.

Can I ask of this as well?

AdoptiveMommy · January 2011

Hi Tia,

your son is gorgeous! we mainly paid for adoption through fundraising... i have a group on cafe mom and one of my posts is all about it!!!
https://www.cafemom.com/group/106815
or i can email it to you. It doesn't lay out well here.

good luck
God Bless
Ashlene

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