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Yesterday’s post discussed grants and loans for adoption. There are far more available now than there were five years ago. Still, not everyone is going to qualify for those – notice how many of them require you to be Christian, for example.
What else can we do to save money for adoption expenses?
I’ve gotten some great ideas from Adoptive Families magazine and from online forums and support groups. Some of my favorites are:
- Have a mega-garage sale. Ask friends and family members to donate the stuff taking up space in their garages. If you’ve ever seen the show Clean Sweep, you know that you can make hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in a few hours.
- If you can sew, scrap, embroider, or embellish, make and sell items. Some people I know make cloth diapers, or embroider infant clothes to personalize them. One friend of mine makes amazing jewelry and sells it on Etsy. One woman I encountered makes quilts out of baby clothes, and used the proceeds to fund her son’s adoption from Russia.
- Live on one income and save the other. I realize that not all families have two incomes, and some that do are a little wobbly. However, saving anything that you can helps.
- Do without extras, such as cable television. Our cable bill was $75 per month. That’s $900 per year, which is the cost of two plane tickets within the continental US.
- Use credit wisely. Many people get an airline credit card that gives them miles as they charge. This only works in your favor if you pay off all or most of the balance each month. However, as someone who used to do just that, it really is amazing how fast those miles accumulate. Some credit cards also give you cash back, which you can save instead of spend.
- Remember that the little things add up. My husband used to eat fast food lunch a lot. Five dollars per day, five days per week, is $100 per month. Your favorite Starbucks drink likely costs $3 or more. Instead of having these items daily, put the money into a box (so you can’t see it). It’s really true – every little bit helps!
Tune in tomorrow on the US Infant Adoption blog where I ask “Can we ask our family and friends to help pay for our adoption?”.
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