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, like the house payment and the phone bill, are set, but most people can find places to trim in the food budget without impacting their quality of life very much. Along those same lines, here is a post I wrote awhile back about eating affordably.

Frugal Families- This site features articles on a huge variety of money issues: getting out of debt, affordable summer fun, helping teens learn the value of money, affordable remodeling, frugal breakfasts, and scrapbooking on a budget, among many others. Definitely worth a visit!

39DollarGlasses.com- Here's a very affordable way to get your next pair of glasses. You simply provide them with your prescrition, peruse the available frames, and make your selection. If you want, you can try on frames in your eye doctor's office, make a note of what you like, and order online. The site even gives instructions on how to measure the distance between your eyes for proper fit and function of your new glasses.

Budget Stretcher- This site is loaded with information: budgeting forms, articles, and information. Some of it you'll have to pay for, but there's enough free information to make the site worth visiting.

DebtSmart.com- There are lots of helpful tips and advice here for getting out of debt.

Frugal Village- Here you'll find hints on budget romance, dumpster diving (!), pantry stocking, and yard sale success.

Cheryl Johnson on Frugal Village say:

People who live a frugal lifestyle often live with less stress. Typically, those who take control of their money feel they have more control over their life in general. You've heard the old cliché "Money is Power." What most of us fail to understand is that the power isn't in having the money, or how much you have, rather in the ability to control what money you do have.

I think that all of us who've been able to adopt would say that in the long run our children are worth any financial sacrifice we might need to make to get them home!

Other posts about affording adoption:

How we paid for our adoptions

Frugal Recipes

Raising Money For Adoption