Calculating the Costs of Adopting from Taiwan

Let’s make things super uncomfortable and talk about money! Wheeee! Nelson and I want to be very transparent about the costs of adopting from Taiwan and how we’re planning to pay for it.

When we first considered adopting, we were presented with two options since we do not have the desire to adopt a newborn - a domestic adoption through foster care or an international adoption.

There are pros and cons to each option, which we also weighed and prayed over. A domestic foster care adoption is significantly less expensive, however it has its own challenges that Nelson and I do not think we are a good fit for.

God had placed international adoption on our hearts for years, and that is the decision we ultimately came to, knowing the financial commitment would be significant and a little overwhelming. However, seeing how God brought us through cancer, we have proof that He will guide us and bless us if we are trusting Him.

Total Cost of Adopting from Taiwan

$35,765 - $43,685

Fee Breakdown

Agency & Foreign Fees

Application, orientation, home study, receipt of referral, etc.

$21,100

U.S. Based Fees

Home study, education/training, psychological evaluation, dossier authentication, document filing, medical review, translation, etc.

$10,135 - $15,355

Other Airfare, lodging, child's visa, etc.

$4,530 - $7,230

Our Funding Options

Grants

Once our home study is complete, we can explore and apply for adoption grants. There are a lot of grants available, all with different requirements and levels of funding. We hope to qualify for a few different ones, but are unsure at this time how much we would receive.

Loans

Adoption loans are also available and we would prefer not to use loans to finance our journey. It would have to be pretty advantageous (no or deferred interest) for us to pursue a loan.

Fundraising

This one makes us feel so awkward! But our agency and other organizations encourage adoptive families to incorporate fundraising into their financing opportunities. It is humbling. It is a hard ask. However, we will admit the large expense in a short timeline does make it difficult and overwhelming, which is why you see a lot of families asking for financial support. If you'd like to donate as little as $10, we'd really appreciate it! And as we have mentioned previously, any donations to our adoption go directly to the agency to bring our child home, not to us.

Personal Savings

Smart budgeting and money management has helped us contribute a large chunk of the initial fees ourselves. We will continue to save and plan accordingly. We have cut back on expenses where we can. Shout out to You Need a Budget (ynab.com) for helping us nail down our personal budget, giving us the freedom and flexibility to meet our financial goals!

"But wait, didn’t I just see you traveling? Why aren’t you using that money for the adoption?"

Yes, it's true! We love to travel! And have been able to do so quite a bit due to credit card miles and points! During my cancer treatment, Nelson had the foresight to open up a couple of credit cards to earn points and miles. At the time, I thought it was silly because I didn't know if I'd live to travel again. But I'm glad he did because a year after surgery, we were able to use points to visit Utah and the Grand Canyon. Once I saw how we could use our credit cards to travel, I got hooked and we've traveled for practically nothing ever since. In summary, we are not spending any unnecessary funds on travel that would be better suited for our adoption.

Our Favorite Budgeting App

We use YNAB.com for budgeting (which we highly recommend to anyone) and have budget items and savings goals for nearly every aspect of our lives, including adoption expenses of course.

We will continue to be transparent with you, our very supportive community.

If you want to try travel hacking and don't know where to start, let me know!