I'm so sorry that I was away for awhile! I got to visit my family for a few days for an early Mother's Day, and have been extra busy at work as my employer prepares for approximately one million software releases this month. 😱 Thanks for sticking with me despite my absence. You're the best!
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| Visiting with my nephew Jaxon - such a cutie! |
Today I want to talk about one of the biggest hurdles of adoption: cost. The reality is that it can be very, very expensive to adopt a child. Many hopeful parents have already spent thousands on infertility treatments before deciding to adopt. Even without prior attempts at pregnancy, most adoptive couples can expect to pay between $8,000 to $40,000, according to multiple sources.
Because money is such a big consideration when adopting, and can cause a lot of stress for so many of us, I'm starting a Debt Free Adoption series. This is the first article.
As a hopeful adoptive mom myself, I'm a member of several adoption support groups. Many folks in these groups are stressed about how they will pay the fees that they know they are facing. It breaks my heart to see people taking out HELOCs, using credit cards, payday advances, or personal loans to add the child they've been dreaming of to their family.
I'm a big believer in living a debt free life, and I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan. If you're not familiar with Dave, he's a man whose lucrative multi-million dollar real estate venture collapsed when he was in his 20s, and he found himself in massive debt. Through some really hard work, discipline, and sacrifice, he was able to turn things around, get out of debt, and build another multi-million dollar business without relying on other people's money. And he never returned to those old habits once he got out of that choke hold. After going through all this hardship to gain his freedom, he wanted to help others who were also burning in the hell of financial servitude to lenders. He created a program with seven baby steps to help people get control of their own money, get out of debt, build wealth, and give generously.
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| Can't wait for step 7! 💜 |
Bottom line: Dave does not believe in borrowing money. Coming from the perspective of one of those people who did spend thousands of dollars on infertility treatments prior to deciding to adopt (and who did borrow some money for those procedures 😬), I understand that this might sound a little crazy. But you can adopt without debt, or pay off your adoption debt if you already have it. So, how does anyone adopt without debt?!
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You can download this chart here. |
Unfortunately, I'll have to leave you with a cliffhanger on that topic for now, but I do want to share a special story that comes from The Dave Ramsey Show, the sixth most popular radio show in the US. If you're not ready to read The Total Money Makeover
or join a Financial Peace University class, I highly recommend listening to the show. You can find it in podcast form on Spotify and iTunes. It's incredibly inspiring and educational. My favorite part of the show is when people come to do their debt-free screams. Kelly Daniel is a producer on the show, and little did we all know that she has been on her own debt free journey for the past five and a half years. She's also an adoptive parent whose children have costly physical, emotional, and developmental special needs. I won't spoil her family's extraordinary journey with all its ups and downs because it's better in their own words (and wait for that triumphant debt free scream). But I can tell you that there is a lot of emotion as her family celebrates the next chapter in their lives.
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| What freedom feels like! |
You can watch their heartwarming story on the recorded version of the show below:
Isn't this a beautiful tale? And look at her amazing kids. Totally worth it.
Stay tuned for more on debt free adoption, including how to:
- Fund raise.
- Apply for grants.
- Apply for tax credits.
- Get assistance from your employer.
- Use Dave Ramsey's baby steps to help you adopt debt free or pay off adoption debt.
