Affording Adoption, Without Debt

by Jessica Ward on November 8, 2011 · 4 comments

Many readers know that we are very excited about being an adoptive family.  We adopted our girls in 2005 and 2008, both under unusual circumstances and with substantial fees that left our family happy and fulfilled, but in debt to our eyelids.

That was before we drank the debt-free Kool-Aid.  In fact, right after arriving home from Ethiopia with our second daughter, who was very ill, I received my layoff notice. That’s what sparked our debt-free crusade. We asked ourselves, how could we care for these children properly, when we were so financially vulnerable?

Our adoptions were both unusual circumstances, requiring more than the usual fees. Between legal fees, agency fees, home study, fingerprints, notarization and notary verification, dossier, medical checks and vaccines for travel abroad and ever so many plane tickets, the costs were staggering.

There’s no doubt about it, our kids our priceless. Truth be told, I would have done anything in my power to make sure my kids had a family that worked for them—even if it wasn’t our family.

With all of that said, I wish I knew then, what I know now about ways to be resourceful and adopt without debt.

Sure, we did some clever things—friends donated air miles to help us get to Florida over a holiday weekend for our oldest’s adoption (we had only four days’ notice and prices to Orlando were absolutely atrocious).  With our youngest, a re-adoption proceeding was required here in the states to finalize her adoption.  We completed that all pro se (by ourselves) by completing and submitting the forms to the court without the aid of an attorney—saving us $500-$3,000 depending on the attorney’s estimate.  But we missed a lot of opportunities where we could have saved a bundle.

When we felt the call to adopt, it didn’t come with explicit instructions.  Ok, so there was, Deuteronomy 28:12 “The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow” but we just hadn’t connected the dots yet.  We did the best that we knew how. We saved, liquidated savings, reduced spending and leveraged the adoption tax credit with an interest-free adoption loan.

Ideas for adopting debt-free.

  1. Use a no-fee agency. Friends of ours are using Antioch Adoptions. Antioch only accepts Christian families, but they are a ministry organization and do not charge an adoption fee.
  2. Use a low-cost program. Many programs have lower costs.  Domestic, particularly foster-adopt programs have fewer legal costs, in part because the birthparents’ rights were terminated before the adoptive parent enters the picture.
  3. Sell some stuff. Many adoptive families that I know swear by the church rummage sale, or multifamily garage sale.  Others E-bay or craft their way through their adoption expenses.
  4. Hold a raffle. Many families I know have held successful raffles for iPads, plane tickets, jewelry and more. If you want in on the iPad action, check out this link.
  5. Use a commercial fundraiser. Some great fundraising/profit sharing programs exist from MLM-type kitchen products (usually through a friend or family member who already sells) or organizations like Just Love Coffee.
  6. Use grants. At least two dozen organizations provide grants for prospective adoptive families.
  7. Use air miles. If your adoption involves travel, you may be able to buy air miles, or get donations of air miles to offset all or part of your travel costs.
  8. Create Work Parties. The Both Hands Foundation has an innovative way of helping families to adopt: the family creates a work party, and earns their fee by working on behalf of a widow or senior.
  9. Get a job.   My friend Jennifer is a busy stay-at-home mom of ten (8 at home), and after adopting four children in four years, have been called to adopt one more. Though Jennifer is a military retiree and a professional woman, she wanted to bring home a little more ‘bacon’ without sacrificing time with her kids.  To help close the funding gap, she took a job at a fast-food restaurant a few days a week on the night shift. When the kids get home from school and her husband gets home from work, Jennifer dons the hairnet and heads for the golden arches. See Jennifer’s story here.
  10. Get crafty.  One of my friends raised adoption funds with hand-made dolls. Other friends make Christmas tree ornaments and beautiful artwork.

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Bargaining 101: How to get lower prices on everything

by Jessica Ward on October 13, 2011 · 5 comments

Bargaining, “wheeling and dealing” or just getting a deal—whatever you call it, it isn’t always easy to find exactly the item or service you want, and then ask for a lower price.  Our American culture often views this sort of thing as the move of a cheapskate, or disrespectful/distrustful of the merchant and his or her pricing.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.  The best “bargain” is where everyone is happy, and where the transaction is conducted in a respectful way. (Oh, and when you get a screamin’ deal).

I never considered myself a bargainer, until I traveled in Africa.  There, nothing was priced, and I was  subject to” muzungo (foreigner) pricing.”  Even my native-language translators couldn’t get a price lower for me. Muzungo prices were almost always 300%+ locals pricing. Using a few strategies, I began to overcome this (though I doubt I ever truly got pricing to match locals’ prices).

Bargaining rules

Here are a few rules about bargaining that I learned while traveling, and have since employed stateside.

  1. Always bargain with cash. First, it doesn’t cost the merchant anything to accept it, second, there’s no risk!
  2. Know what you’re willing to pay.  Always do your research first, and know your top price for the product or service that you’re hoping to buy.
  3. 3.      Be prepared to walk away.  One thing I’m nearly certain of, is that aside from people and artwork, nothing is one-of-a-kind.  You can always find the product or service that you’re looking for somewhere else.  When in doubt, always walk.

 

Where to bargain

Overseas (check travel guides). Most cultures expect some bargaining and consider you a fool if you don’t. (Perhaps they’re right?)

With service businesses (carpet, drapery cleaning, auto detailing, construction, etc).

With any major purchase (appliance, automobile, real estate)

On anything used (thrift shop, garage sale)

Monthly contracts (mobile phone, gym, etc)

Credit cards and mortgage companies (on mortgages, get all of your bargaining done before you sign the papers!)

Doctors and hospitals: Try offering payment in full before the treatment. Ask for a 20% discount. Ask for cash discounts.

 

Be polite! Do’s and Don’ts of Bargaining

Do: Ask for a manager when you can.

Do: Be reasonable. The vendor or service provider deserves to make a profit.

Do: Use cash!

Do: Plan a maximum price.

Do: Buy in quantity or negotiate a quantity purchase. (Consider asking the carpet cleaner for a 30-50% discount if you can get 2-3 neighbors to have their rugs cleaned the same day).

Do: Know if the item must be purchased, or if it is possible to be scavenged or thrifted.

Don’t: Be loud or rude.

Don’t: Bargain with an audience. Be discreet. If you really want that washing machine, don’t try to bargain them down in front of three other shoppers—they’ll all want the same deal, which makes yours a lot less realistic!

Don’t: Use credit or write checks for your deal. Seldom is it a real “deal” this way—the vendor absorbs both risk and merchant fees. See if they’ll let you save the difference, or split the difference.

Don’t: Visit during a busy time of day or season.  If you want a new washer and dryer, forget the home store on a Saturday morning—go on a Tuesday morning, when nobody else is there. The daytime sales rep will be eager to meet quotas, and is likely getting poor hours.

 

Reporting back:

I don’t buy a lot of household items, but in my business I wheel-and-deal like crazy.  I’ve purchased several printers for my business (and for others) at deep discount because they are open box or because I’m buying more than one at once. We recently got cash discounts on two medical bills, a dentist and a 15% discount on a major auto service for paying in cash (oh, and two new tires for my husband’s Civic—because we moved all service for both of our high-mileage cars over to one mechanic!)

Here’s your challenge for the week (or month if you don’t have anything you need to buy this week).  Set a goal of an item to get a deal on. Give it a try, and report back.  I can’t wait to hear your savings!

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Eureka Endeavor NLS Vacuum Review & Giveaway!

by DebtKid on September 23, 2011 · 80 comments

Disclosure: We received this vacuum as a review unit to keep. Which is awesome, cause we needed a vacuum! End disclosure.
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This is a special guest post by DK from DebtKid.com. He and his wife were both able to use this vacuum at their apartment in Portland.
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When my wife and I moved last year, she didn’t own a vacuum, and I had a massive canister one that was a hand-me-down from my Uncle. I looked up the model and it came out in 1988. So it’s a big old….and huge.

So when we moved I wanted something super light. So we purchased a lightweight battery powered vacuum.

My wife hates it.

I don’t mind it, but she hates having to recharge the battery, and it’s small and light, which is nice for stair….but we don’t have that many stairs.

Enter the Eureka Endeavor NLS.

It’s not small.

It’s not electric.

But man can this thing SUCK!

ha ha.

The NLS stands for “No loss of suction”.

It’s very powerful, and it worked especially well on our carpet. Though we did use it on our fake hardwood kitchen area as well, and it did pretty good there as well.

Pros
- Lots of power
- Easy to empty (no bags!)
- Surprisingly nimble for it’s size
- Price: $79.88 at Walmart

Cons
- Bulky, and pretty loud
- Lots of plastic

Overall for the price, it’s a pretty darn good vacuum.

And now my wife is happy : ).

Video:

Win a new Eureka Endeaver NLS!

Eureka was nice enough to offer up one of these vacuums to a lucky BeingFrugal.net reader as well!

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment telling me what is most important to you, when considering a new vacuum. Please, only one comment per person, as multiple comments will be deleted.

The giveaway is only open to residents of the United States age 18 and older. I will close comments and draw a winner on Friday, Sept 30 at 7 pm PST. After I email the winner, that person will have one week to contact me with their name and mailing address, so I can pass the info on to the Eureka people for shipment of the prize.

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