After a coffee date with a friend at work I thought it wise to make an appointment with a financial advisor. I was just so overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. After talking with the financial advisor and looking at what we could be saving, given a few changes, I was blown away. Aaron and I have been faithful from the beginning of this process that God would provide the funds to get through this adoption. It's funny to think that part of His answer to that prayer would be in our own checking account!
When we haven't been worrying about this we've been working on getting a couple documents we were missing, like Aaron's birth certificate and my passport with my married name on it. We also started some Hague certified training. We have to have at least 10 hours completed before we can submit our dossier.
So on the topic of finances...did you do much research on the most cost efficient ways to adopt? Like country to country or domestic to international? I'm pretty passionate about adopting from my own community but have never thought about cost differences. My family has the experience of a 1981 adoption and then adopting a very handicap child in 1988 so money was really different there. I wonder how and if we can avoid administrative costs through certain styles of adoption or based on location.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - let me know what you've learned. I'm not ready to adopt yet (give me 5 years) but it's never to early to start taking notes!
It's funny because when you start everyone just says "don't worry about the money" but then no one really tells you where the money comes from. ha! And when you look at the "financing" section in an adoption packet it seems like your options are... borrowing against the equity in your house or your 401K. uhhh ok? We just kind of jumped and took their advice to not worry about the money and we've found that there are things that can help get you there, like the federal adoption credit. This year it's $13,000! We also plan on applying for a grant.
ReplyDeleteIn talking with other people about domestic adoptions it seems that the cost is about the same. The processes are pretty different and since the birth mother chooses you in a domestic adoption there are more costs associated with setting up a profile, paying for the birth mothers prenatal care, hospital bill, etc. And I think if you're adopting through the foster care system it's really different too. I've heard of other countries being a little bit more expensive because the programs require more travel and more time spent in that country. Anyway... I would say don't let the cost dictate what kind of adoption you want to pursue. Hope this helps. I'm still learning.
Enjoy Hague Training! Smile. It's not too bad really, and all good information! Good idea to meet with a financial advisor! I didn't think of that!
ReplyDeletewhat is Hague training, if you don't mind me asking?
ReplyDeleteHey Lara, things are going well. Hague training... just some online courses we have to take. So far we've learned about attachment, and health issues children might have when you adopt internationally.
ReplyDeleteHow are things with you guys? Any news?
We contacted a social worker to set up a home study. She said she was about to leave the country for what we thought was a couple of weeks. Apparently it was longer. Anyway, we are just taking our time and thinking up ways to save money. I'm trying to practice patience when it comes to God's plan for our little family.
ReplyDelete