Finances

[Pinkroseuk]

Hi all we're looking to adopt but have read that some people can't due to finances?
We have a mortgage on our home and in a small amount of debt.
Currently working full time but I would give up work if we adopted.
We also would need to buy another car at this point so hubby had a car to get to work and me so I could get out.
This would mean there would be very little spare cash for a couple of years while debts are cleared- would this be seen as a bad thing? Thanks

Everyone has either a mortgage or rent so thats just normal expenditure and nothing to worry about, and many people have debts, even if its just something like a car loan.
SWs will want to know that you can support yourselves and a child. Of course children cost money but they don't need to cost a fortune either. They don't need designer clothes or foreign holidays for example.
What you don't want to do is add unecessary stress to your lives by fretting about money. If you are just at the early stages you could have 18 months to 2 years before you have a child placed.
If you are worried about your debt then make a concerted effort now to clear it.
Carry out a financial review now, if you don't already do it, review your utilities etc to make sure you are on the best deals, including your mortgage. I switched morgage deal a few years ago and reduced my outgoings by £250 a month. Do you have unnecessary expenditure like magazine subscriptions, the little things add up. Do a budget, maybe practice living on one salary for a few months ?
Probably the biggest single expense that children create is childcare. You say you are intending to give up work, whilst you will need a good chunk of adoption leave, you don't necessarily have to give up work entirely, though you have to balance your earnings against childcare. Do you have any enhanced adoption leave benefits at work?
One thing I did once I was approved was to start stockpiling non perishable food like pasta and rice, tinned stuff, loo rolls, cleaning stuff, toiletries etc. It made a huge difference to my food bills when my adoption pay ran out. I also made sure I was stocked up with a decent coat, winter shoes, undies and basic clothes so I didnt have that expenditure for nearly two years

Thankyou.
Yes of course, we always shop around and change all bills for the lowest at every opportunity.
No we have no expenses that are like magazines, gym.
Yes that's a good idea about stocking up. We usually buy in bulk anyway as it's cheaper but stacking does help.
I have a rubbish work package so no benefits there I'm afraid.
It's hard to plan too far ahead as of course we have no idea how long the process will take.
Thanks

Check what benefits you may have access to after adoption.

Maybe consider buying the second car now so that this debt is partly cleared by the time the child gets there.

Consider emergencies and how you would deal with them ; if you have an unexpected expense beyond your savings, what kind of loan might you be able to get and how would you repay it ?

Keep saving as much as you can while you still have two salaries.

I think that it's not so much a matter of how much money you have as a matter of showing the social workers that you have thought about how you're going to deal with the expected / unexpected, financially speaking. So showing them that you've crunched the numbers and you can make it work should go a long way.