A Natural Family

It crossed my mind after I wrote the 'Nitty Gritty' post that you all may wonder what adjustments we have made in order to fund our adoption. So, in the spirit of openness, I would love to share those.

1. We received a gift of money a couple of years ago from J's grandmother after she sold her home. This was a gift given to all of her grandchildren to be used for whatever purposes. (THANKS, Charlotte!) Our purpose is adoption! This is currently accruing interest in a CD, and without this the funding would have been much more complicated for us. Started with about $10,000.

2. We had some student loan money left over a year ago (before we stopped needing to take out student loans). Yes, I realize that this is something we will pay back with interest, but... I am glad that the money was there for us to pay the initial home study fees. $3,000.

3. We came up with a budget for our current income that is allowing us to put away money every month. The plan is to put that in a high interest ING-type savings account. We, the famous movie-goers, no longer see very many movies in theaters. We don't eat out as much, don't go into NYC as much, and don't pay our electric bill... no, no... we do pay the electric bill! We just don't run the a/c! $400/mo.

4. We work extra jobs. I babysit for some friends of ours who usually wouldn't pay me. Now they just give us some 'adoption money' every so often! J has taken on extra classes at Kaplan Test Prep and has taught a couple of classes at Rutgers as a Part-Time Lecturer. $15/hr, $23/hr, and $2,500/class.

5. We applied for a couple of adoption grants, but have not received any favorable determinations as of yet. -$30 (application fees).

6. We have rented out a room in our apartment to a couple of friends (on different occasions) who were between apartments. The money from them goes into the fund! ~$1500 total.

7. We received a bangin' tax return this year, all of which will go to the fund. $2700.

Things adoptive parents don't have to buy:
* Maternity Clothes
* Newborn stuff
* Breast Pumps
* Pre-natal Dr.'s visit co-pays

Things this adoptive parent worries about:
* No paid maternity leave which is hard for me because I am the primary wage earner right now (although J rivals me some months!) and I had always envisioned myself staying home, at least for a while. The Family Leave Act gives me 12 weeks, but my employer doesn't have to pay for any of it. So, I am saving up vacation time, which kind of stinks b/c it makes holidays hard this year. Still praying about that one...