Once you have made the life-changing decision to adopt a new member of your family, one of the primary concerns is usually how to pay for it. It’s a myth that adoption is always prohibitively expensive, but administrative fees can still add up! The cost of adoption will vary greatly, depending on whether you choose to adopt domestically or internationally as well as the age of the child. Government tax credits can greatly offset these costs, but they are only available after the fact and may not cover the entirety of the adoption and travel fees.
As a result, many new adoptive parents find that they have to get a little creative with the household budget. In addition to bank loans and tax credits, the following are a few ways to earn some extra money to help pay for adoption costs.
Finding Sponsors
Turning to friends, family, and acquaintances can help you drum up support. Some ways to go about this include creating websites or printing up brochures explaining your dream for adoption, and accepting donations. You can recruit sponsors and participate in events like fun runs and marathons, which friends will usually be happy to contribute to. Church groups are often a great source of support. Get creative and organize an event that your social network will be able to take part in, whether it’s a bike-a-thon, charity concert, or a fundraising dance contest.
Starting an Online Business
Another way to raise money for your adoption is to create a separate stream of income. You don’t need to hold an MBA to create your own online business, or even worry about shipping your own products. It’s worth finding out what is drop shipping if you’re interested in setting up an ecommerce website. In a nutshell, wholesale dropshippers hold onto the inventory and ship it for you when you receive an order through your own online shop. That way, all you have to worry about is setting up a website and enabling payments through Paypal or other providers. Naturally you could also sell your own crafts, e-books, or other products through an online shop.
Household Sale
If you don’t have the free time it takes to run an ecommerce business, you could still make some money from items you have lying around the house. Is your closet stocked full of clothing you hardly ever wear? Does the grand piano in your living room serve more as decoration than as a functional instrument? It’s time to pare down your belongings and see what you can part with. You can hold an old-fashioned garage sale or choose to sell each item individually on websites like eBay in your spare time.
As soon as you start thinking about adopting a child, it’s worth taking the time to explore these alternative options to bank loans or credit cards. The more time you have, the more you can set aside into an adoption fund. Every little bit helps you get closer to your goal, and the penny-pinching and extra effort will be well worth the trouble when you reap the rewards of a successful adoption.