Below is a full account of our adoption expenses since we began this process a year and a half ago. While we have been careful over the years to manage our money in order to save before beginning this journey, adoption expenses can be a huge burden on anyone’s finances.
We are not posting this to ask for money. We decided to be transparent about our expenditures for several reasons. For starters, we simply want to bring awareness to what a domestic newborn adoption can cost and why we chose to raise money for travel by using Savannah’s Puzzle. I wish it were not the case, but adoption can be crazy expensive. We also believe God is the great provider. This has been particularly evident in our lives. We know that as long as we seek His guidance in this process we can trust in His provision – even when it seems impossible.
We applied to several grants and were denied by all of them. Fortunately, we belong to an amazing church who granted us the money to cover our home study fees. That gift was a huge relief in the very beginning. Unfortunately, because we moved and then our home study being a year old we had to do an addendum ($250) and then a Renewal ($500) in order for our home study to be current. This only added to the already stressful adoption journey. Not only did the added expense cause stress, but also the extra paperwork, doctor visits, pet vaccination, background checks, and FBI clearances we were required to do - again. Out of the blue friends of ours surprised us by donating the money to cover the Renewal. Talk about God’s provision! We are beyond thankful.
For those of you considering adoption, please do not let this post scare you away. Rather remember to trust in God’s provision and seek out the many resources out there to help cover the cost. Also remember adoptions do not always cost this much and sometimes it cost more - there is a lot of variation.
Here it is - an itemized list of our adoption expenses:
Homestudy (application fee, processing fee, addendum) - $2050 PAID (grant from our church)
Background checks/supporting docs (for Initial & Renewal) - $400 PAID
Profile book copies - $200 PAID
Homestudy Renewal - $500 PAID (donated)
Christian Adoption Consultants - $3080 PAID
Agency payment #1 (at time of match)* - $10,000 PAID
Agency payment #2 (due March 1st)* - $5,000
Agency payment #3 (due at placement)* - $21, 000
Travel (hotel, gas & food for 2 weeks in Florida) - $3500 ($2,300 from puzzle)
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Total: $45,730
Total amount paid: $16,230 PAID
Amount currently in adoption savings account: $13,300 (includes $2300 from puzzle)
Remaining balance: $16,200
*below is a breakdown of the Agency fees:
Birth mother living expenses $16,500.00
Counseling / Case management $3,000.00
Legal Fees / Adoption Intermediary Fees $14,000.00
Miscellaneous Expenses (legal costs) $2,500.00
**** Huge thanks to those of you whom have donated towards Savannah’s Puzzle. I had a really hard time making the decision to do a fundraiser-ish event for the adoption but I have to say I have been amazed at the amount of support that we have received. Many supporters are folks we haven’t seen or talked to in years. Sharing our journey with others has blessed us more than I could have possibly imagined. I am constantly amazed when we are having the hardest of days, much like today, people contact us out of the blue. The right words always come at the right time. I am so very, very grateful.****