Paying with Credit Cards?

December 12, 2010

Has anyone ever paid for their adoption by creatively using credit cards? If we are selected by an expectant mother we are being shown to, we will need to come up with 10K more than we have saved by March.

I am thinking of paying for any of our own day-to-day expenses by credit card for the next 3 months, then paying the minimum on the card, THEN transferring the balance to a 0% 12 month card, and paying that off over the course of a year.

That would give us the 10K in our bank acct that we still need, and allow us to avoid taking out a loan.

Has anyone else tried this? Pitfalls? I am very organized, so I know I would insure we pay on time to avoid the penalty of an increased interest rate. The balance transfer fee is only $10, so that won't be a big factor. Aside from our mortgage, this will be our only debt. But am I missing anything?

Thank you,

Natalie

millie58

January 16, 2011

No advice; just wanted to say good luck!! You said you're organized so you know what you're doing. I'm totally not organized and had to give them up.

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rd200

January 16, 2011

I am also very financially organized and am very good with our limited finances, but i would NEVER put all that money on a credit card. You just never know what's going to happen in the future. Heaven forbid the new baby could have medical problems, need that super expensive formula, might have other issues that cost money and then there you sit having to pay off this credit card in a year to avoid all the interest thats compiling by the day. It just seems so risky to me.

Does this situation require 10K more than your original budget or did you just not have enough saved before starting the process?

I think that its really important to wait for a situation you can afford. And if you feel comfortable with having that much debt and having a new baby, then go for it. You know more than I how much you can really afford and how long it will take to pay it off. Good luck, I hope you get selected soon!!! Rach

mother2-3

January 17, 2011

I say go for it. We got creative with both of our adoptions and did exactly what you are saying. I have a payment now on the second adoption but there's not one month that I don't make that payment with absolute joy! I would finance a car wouldn't I? Why not our wonderful children.

Fe2002

January 17, 2011

Can you simply pay for your adoption expenses with the cc when the charges come in? or use one of the checks they send you (if you can't pay via cc)?

I would do that as opposed to paying household expenses and then paying the minimum. At the end of the day they are the same thing, but I think it's just easier to charge the the adoption expenses (or use the check).

mi75

January 17, 2011

dh and i will be taking a small loan from my 401-k (separate from the money we have saved for me to take 4-6 months off of work) for the actual agency costs, and then when the child tax credit comes in, pay it back. we are lucky that we are working with a very small charitable/social agency so the cost is quite minimal compared to private agencies. -m