A huge question in the minds of many adoptive parents is how on earth they'll ever be able to afford the costs associated with an international adoption. I have blogged in the past about the estimated cost for our current adoption, and how we afforded the adoption costs for our other children. I also wrote about the timing of adoption-related expenses (hint: you don't have to come up with all the money at once!). I want to write now about some of... more

In a previous post I shared the projected costs for the adoption that my husband and I are currently doing. Here I thought I'd explain our costs a bit and show you what to look for when you are picking an agency and counting up costs for yourself.

Fees for more than one child-

A fee that really varies from agency to agency is the fee for an additional child. I have heard that some agencies charge $4000-$6000 more for the adoption of a second child. Our agency charges $8000 to adopt two children over the age of 7, which is exactly the same fee they charge for ONE infant. AAI is... more

One of the most common adoption-related questions I get is the money one: just how much does it cost to adopt from Ethiopia? I briefly considering getting a run down on every cost for every agency, but then I realized that would take forever and I remembered I have a life beyond this blog. So what I've done is add up my costs as exactly as possible. I'll share some details in a future post that will help you estimate your own costs a little more closely.

For previous adoptions I have added up the major costs-- agency fees, homestudy and immigration paperwork, and plane tickets-- and estimated the total costs from that.... more

Families considering international adoption are often understandably concerned about the money involved. Ethiopia is one of the more reasonable countries. Some agencies working in Ethiopia are more affordable than others. Choosing to have your child escorted may end up to be a little more affordable than traveling. But still all the costs associated with an Ethiopian adoption can easily add up to $12,000 or more.

There are a variety of resources out there to assist with adoption funding. Erin over at the Transracial... more

One of our sons was born missing his right foot. When we were considering his adoption, one of the biggest issues in our minds was the cost of providing him with prosthetic legs. He needs on average one new prosthetic per year at a cost of around $10,000 per leg. That's no small chunk of change.

We were familiar with the work that Shriner's does for children with orthopedic needs, burns, and spinal cord injury. We investigated and were pleased to learn that we would be eligible for help from them, and that all costs would be covered.

As it turned out, our own health insurance was quite good - good enough... more

One of the questions that adoptive families often ask is if there is an income requirement to adopt from Ethiopia. Ethiopia does not require a specific income to adopt. However, the US immigration does. Additionally, some of the agencies that work in Ethiopa do have an income requirement, so that is one of the question you'd be wise to ask any agency that you may be considering.

The immigration department requires proof of income in the form of the I-864, the Affidavit of Support. Basically, unless you are a military family, you must have an income that is 125% of the poverty level for the number of people in your family, including the child to be adopted. If you are an active-duty... more

My husband works for a fairly big company in our area, one that employs several thousand people. Sometimes when you work for a company that big, your needs can feel lost in the shuffle. But we have always felt supported in one important way.

My husband's employer offers a $2000 adoption benefit. With each of our four adoptions, they have handed us a check, usually within a month of homecoming-- just in time to help pay for all those expensive airline tickets that we put on our credit card to get our child home.

An article in yesterday's New York Times entitled Breaking the Biology Barrier ... more

A question I have often gotten is how we manage to afford to adopt again and again. I shared our story elsewhere, but in this post I wanted to explain more about the timing of the various fees associated with adoption.

When people hear that all our adoptions have cost in the range of $15,000+ they are usually shocked. That's a big chunk of change. What many people don't understand is that you don't have to dump all your pennies out on the counter at once.

Now keep in mind that different agencies have different fees and probably different expectations for the timing of fee payment. So... more

To afford adoption, lots of people need to cut a few corners and find some new ways of saving money. The internet is a great resource for getting frugal-living ideas. Here are some of my favorite 'inspirational' sites.

CreativeFrugality.com- Here is a wealth of frugal-living information on many different topics, including saving money on gas, wedding gifts, kids' rooms, and children's parties.

Hilbilly Housewife- The main focus of this site is trimming the food budget. This happens to be one area where I find it easiest to reduce expenses. Some expenses,... more

The first time I went to Ethiopia I didn't bother to get a phone card. I figured I would be mostly emailing my husband, and if he called me at my hotel, we'd keep the conversations short, and the cost would not be a big deal.

Boy, was I wrong! When I opened up my phone bill a few weeks after I returned home from Ethiopia, I almost fell over. The phone bill was more than $700, a whopping $650 more than usual.

Turns out it is very hard to have a short conversation with your husband when you are on the other side of the world picking up a baby and there are 5 kids at home missing mom.

Also... more