[sugarandspice697]

I have been researching country after country and I've finally narrowed it down to three.


1. Ethiopia
2. Russia
3. Kazakhstan

I love that the Russian government involves adoptive parents in the process by visiting the child first before making a decision. Plus, Ethiopia is currently putting many restrictions on single parents. I don't want to start the process and then later find out that I cannot complete the adoption.
However, the typical adoption for one baby cost about 50K!! I'm really trying to open my mind to the possibility of a Russian adoption but I just can't get pass the extremely high fees.

Could anyone offer any tips or suggestion on how to make this country a more "affordable" option for me?

[kretzklan]

I'm sure some folks will have some money saving ideas - but most of them are minimal. The sad fact is that costs are going up due to changes in the process. As there are fewer and fewer agencies that can complete adoptions in Russia - fees go up and right now, many families are having to travel for 3 trips (due to not waiving the 10 day wait) - and the travel is really what adds up quickly.
You can rent apartments for your time there, which is significantly cheaper than hotels and get donations of frequent flier miles from friends and family to cover parts of the airfare...I also know folks have done a lot of fund raisers!
I hope you get some great information!

[sbardolf]

one agency (PM me for the name). They waive the fees in some instances, so you will have more money for travel. Bank of America also offers a line of credit Adoption Loan.

[amyfk]

If you are a homeowner, how about the home equity line of credit?
Amy K, NJ

[Shark01]

Its $50k no matter how you rationalize it.

401k loan?

[sarstech]

We adopted our son 2 years ago from Novokuznetsk/Kemerovo. We only had to make two (2) trips. We were able to "afford" it by getting a home equity line of credit on our house. When that ran out (we didn't have quite enough equity built up for everything) we just put it on low interest credit cards. About a year after we brought him home we refinanced the mortgage and heloc and switched the credit cards to one with 2.9% for 18 months.

I used to get all worked up about how much was on each credit card but not anymore. Seeing the joy in my son's face is priceless. We'd adopt again from the same agency if finances will allow for it in the future.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!