How possible is it REALLY to afford an adoption?

Yep, when it looked like the episode of Adoption Stories was going to address the financial aspect, I watched very attentively hoping for a *realistic* option. Pretty disappointing to find that it was a "beating the odds" kind of situation. The trip to Vegas was depicted, however, as a diversion and not as an attempt to win the adoption funds. Even so, the story might give some folks the unrealistic hope that they could get similarly lucky. Having grown up in Nevada, I've seen the heartache and financial devastation wreaked when anybody plays with the expectation of winning.

Have you and your husband considered Korea? We looked at Korean adoption first and found it to be much less expensive and "easier" paperwork than many other countries, thru Holt (agency), due to Holt's long history in the country. The children can be escorted to many major cities in the US, so you could save your resources & time off work to acclimate the new baby. The only thing is, you may not be able to specify a girl or boy unless you already have a child of the opposite sex. (this agency likes you to be open to either if it is your first) I think it ranges in the $13-15,000 range, which is a lot less than Guatemala or China. Hope this helps!

My dh and I adopted 2 boys through South Korea (separately) within 4 years and don't have any adoption debt. My husband has an okay job paywise but not even enough for us to qualify for an adoption from China if that tells you anything! :-) I work from home very part time proofreading court depositions. It IS possible to afford an adoption! While we were in the process of our second son's adoption I realized there must be some help out there for adoptive families so I started researching and last year I began my business helping adoptive families figure out how they can afford to adopt. I don't charge anything to adoptive families. Everyone has full access to the website, I offer a bi-monthly newsletter, I talk one-on-one through e-mail with families all the time, etc. You can read more about me and our story on the website and also find adoption grants, loans, employer benefits, travel ideas, fundraisers, and lots more. Just thought that might help someone! Angie Weldy [url]http://www.affordingadoption.com[/url] ...helping to make adoption an affordable option for every family!

will you please PM me that fundraising info too. ty

Another country that you should look into that hasn't been mentioned is the Philippines. When we were looking into adoption, I researched Russia, Ukrain, Kazakstahn, Guatamala and China. But the costs were ranging from $17K - $35K depending on the agency and the country. I agree, Guatamala was definitely on the high end. Then, since I am half filipino, I did a little more digging and found some agencies that did adoptions through the Philippines. Our adoption estimates are around $13K but I'm planning on $15K. In my research the reason why the Philippines is much more affordable is because the Philippine government subsidizes their adoptions. The wait time are a little longer than most other countries but it's definitely worth looking into if cost weighs heavy in your decision-making process. Good luck! If you want to know which agency we are using pls PM me. Jennifer

Hey! We too just picked up our daughter from the Philippines. My husband was adopted as a baby from the same orphanage. I have a document written up for anyone wanting to know agencies, breakdown of cost, etc. Just pm me your email, and I'll send it to you! Jen

There is a yahoo chat group titles fundraising for adoption you might want to join. They've got great ideas. The site is [url]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fundraisingforadoption/.[/url] We were lucky as we had a townhouse rental property which we sold and were able to pay off $20,000 worth of bills. This was before we made the final, real decision to adopt, but not too far ahead. I think that was what we needed. Anyway, with those bills gone we were able to take out a home equity loan. And, believe me, you might be surprised in the amount of equity you have. We've only had our house for 3 years and got a loan for $30,000! We have also had family and friends donate yard sale items. Our first yard sale, a couple weekends ago, brought in $1000! This was after taking out the money we put in to start off with! So, there are ways around it. Keep your chin up and do a LOT of research!

It annoys me that people use that "If you can't afford adoption fees, how can you afford a child." I just spent $30,000 (my entire life savings) in IVFs and FETs. We have enough to live on working day to day. My husband and I have pretty good jobs, but sad paychecks compared to the cost of living in Washington DC. It's outrageous! It doesn't freaking matter what pay I get. It doesn't matter if I'm a doctor or a janitor - I deserve a child as much as anybody else. PERIOD. It's not my fault I can't have kids. It's not my fault I'm not a lottery winner. It is my fault that I'm childless if I don't TRY to adopt. Sadly cutting costs only help so much. When you're a secretary and your husband is a computer tech and your rent for a tiny apartment is $1700/mo, it's hard to cut corners.

i dont know if this would help you or not, but my husband and i are adopting from ethiopia. Some of the agencies are only about 10,000 or so...or at least well under 15000! I recently heard of a couple that charged all their expenses on one of those no interest, no payments for 18 months credit cards, then paid it off when they got the adoption tax credit the following year, which can be up to 11,000 or so. I know before we were able to adopt our son, i felt so desperate to have a child, and i felt exactly the same way you do. The $ factor is so daunting when you first look into adoption. In our case, i got an additional part time job for a year, to save, but i thought the above mentioned method seemed feasible too. Of course, you have to be sure you will qualify for the credit, and get the money back to pay it! good luck. this is hard, but it can be done.

I have a friend living in Addis now. She suggested adoption from Etheopia. We've considered it but want to do either the Philippines (I'm moving there next summer) or here in the U.S. I know how expensive it is here, so we'll probably focus on Manila. Etheopia has a fantastic program. A consular officer friend told me about it and was VERY impressed. Who knows... maybe I will look into Etheopia. I didn't think hard on it because it's not the Philippines. Thank you!

We just brought home 2 children from Ethiopia in August 2005. It was a wonderful experience and very fast.Here is a link to our website: [url="http://www.vanvleetfamily.com"]www.vanvleetfamily.com[/url] Christy

I feel your pain with the cost to adopt, DH and I are adopting from Guatemala and so we're looking at a total cost of approx 30k..OUCH! It is difficult to save that kind of money, but I do agree with some lifestyle changes, it really helps. Currently we are a dual income family, however when our son arrives I'll stay at home, which means our income is being cut by 40k a year. While we've been waiting planning, we used my paychecks to eliminate all of our credit card debt (and there was a lot of it). Now that it's paid off we use my checks to put money aside for the adoption. We also sold both of our vehicles and relpaced them with much more economical vehicles (we reduced car payments by 500/mo). We created a budget based solely on my DH's income, and with that we both started taking our lunches to work (saves us about 160/mo) and we started carpooling (saves us about 250/mo as we both drive 70/day), we also quit eating out on Saturday nights and only go out to eat about once a month which saves about 150/mo. I've also started grocery shopping on Sundays when the adds come out and I've reduced our grocery bill quite signifcantly. It all adds up. We're just begining this journey so we have probably another 9-10 months before our son comes home. The credit cards were taken care of last month, so this month we'll really be able to sock the money away. Right now we have enough saved to take care of the homestudy and agency fee, I've also elected to take 100% dispersement for my profit sharing, I guess we could use the money more now then when we retire as we several IRA's and money in stocks, etc and a whiz of an advisor. Right now we figure we'll have about 25k saved by the end of this journey and we'll take 5 k out of DH's 401k acount until the tax refund comes in. Like I said, I know it's tough, but if you believe this is right for you, put your faith in that and you'd be amazed how things can come together. GOOD LUCK!

Have you looked into Korea? I hope everything turns out great for you!

We are just starting looking into adoption could you send me this info

I know this response is a little late, but I've been looking at a website that seems really thorough and has links to all kinds of funding options, including grants, loans, fundraising, etc. I haven't really gotten that far into it yet, but maybe it would help. It's [url="http://www.affordingadoption.com"]www.affordingadoption.com[/url] Some adoption agencies offer financial assistance to some families. Also, we have been trying to save little by little and are opening a savings account solely for our "adoption fund." Sometimes small contributions can add up. I think people may have mentioned these things already, but selling on ebay, having a yard sale, etc. can all help even though they don't seem to generate large sums of money. Also, we are planning to put a chunk of our tax refund into the adotion fund. What about asking for contributions to the fund instead of presents at Christmas and your birthday? Making regular deposits into the account would also add up over time. I am a SAHM and am considering doing some babysitting on the side just to save for the adoption. Hope this can help. And if anyone else has more suggestions I would love to hear them. You can send me a pm if that's easiest. Thanks!