So what did we do when we got hit with that $25,000 adoption bill that was $10,000 more than I had estimated we would need once we were matched, and that was also due immediately? (See part 1 if you haven’t already.)

First, I wanted to know why it was so much more than last time.

I started pouring through the outline of all the expenses and eventually figured out that they were pre-billing us for some of the expenses (like the ASP and private attorney advising the birth mother) that we paid directly to those parties during our first adoption and who we paid later in the process. So they were all legit costs we would eventually incur either way; we were just paying them up front this time.

I asked the finance person at the agency if they’d changed the way they do things, and she said each case is different and it just depends how the caseworker sets it up. Had I known that, I might have asked for it to be set up differently, but it was what it was.

So after I shed a few tears, lamented to some friends and family, and got a pep talk from Jeff, I got to work figuring out how to make this work (I handle all the finances in our family, which is why this task fell to me). Continue reading →

Dave Ramsey would choke on his latest beans and rice recipe if he knew the amount of consumer debt we have.

(Didn’t know Ramsey had ventured into meal planning? Neither did I until recently. Hey, it’s an area where people can save money if they plan wisely, so why wouldn’t the King of Financial Frugality offer some help?)

Anyway, the reality of it is that adoption is expensive. Or at least, private adoption is.

Many people wonder why it costs so much when there are supposedly all these babies and children all over the world who need help, a home, a family.

If only it were that simple… Continue reading →