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Have you spoken to your employer? Most offer adoption leave on the same terms as maternity leave and this usually means enhanced pay.

Look up the information for tax credits on the website it gives you a calculator - also there will be child benefit - not a lot but it helps

Hi, another single adopter here. Yes its tough, and there is no simple answer. Either save more and reduce outgoings or change jobs to get better adoption leave. Or win the lottery ! Check that your employer doesnt offer an enhanced maternity package, if they do then they should offer the same for adoption. If all they offer is statutory pay then you need to think about your job. Look at the tax credits calculator, don't use your current full time salary, put in a few examples based on various part time options and see what you get. You should get child benefit, its not much but it helps. Adoption allowances from the LA are getting very difficult to come by, LAs vary greatly in what they offer, but unless the child is hard to place you probably won't get anything. And you won't know your eligibilty until a child is identified. I really wouldn't factor it into your planning at this stage. My income comes from several sources, I work 3 days a week, child tax credits (earn too much for working tax credits) child benefit, my son is in receipt of DLA, and we do get an adoption allowance. I did change my job to make it work. My old job was a small charity and only offered statutory adoption pay. My salary level wouldn't have been comfortable on a part time basis. I went back into the civil service, got a years adoption leave and a higher salary which meant I could afford to drop to part time. My son ticks every hard to place category there is so we got adoption allowance. I'm very lucky to have the allowance, my son's LA is also very generous. However if I lost it, we could just about manage without it. I didn't factor it into my original planning. I don't run a car so don't have that expense. I make sure I am on all the lowest utility deals I can find, I've switched my mortgage several times, last time I reduced my outgoings by £350 a month. You could look at a mortgage holiday for your adoption leave year. On a practical note I started stashing non perishable food, toiletries and cleaning stuff, I had about 6 months supply of loo roll, pasta, rice, tinned basics like tomatos, beans , cat food, cereals, porridge, squash, tea bags etc a few bottles of wine. Helped reduce the weekly shopping bill hugely those first few months. Whilst I had a salary I also made sure I had my 'mum uniform' sorted out. I don't think I 'd worn jeans for about 10 years. So I got together a good stock of practical basics, shoes, a good coat, underwear. I don't think I bought any clothes for me until I had to get back to work stuff. Its a juggling act, with some tough decisions about work and outgoings.

Thanks, everyone. I get adoption leave of a year and salary in addition to statutory adoption pay for first 18 weeks so getting enhanced entitlement there. But after statutory adoption pay runs out it’ll be just child benefit and savings which is scary. Could in theory get tax credits whilst on adoption leave from the calculator- just concerned what the actual reality will be: these calculators are never 100% accurate. I’m already down to the minimum on outgoings and don’t have any debt - it’s the mortgage that’s high but fixed into a mortgage deal but top tip on asking for a payment holiday. Also top tip on stocking up on food/clothes now - thanks! Adoption allowance does seem to be a rarity and my SW mutters under her breath about “means testing” when I ask about it. SW keen for me to foster to adopt but don’t think finances would stretch to that with the additional years of childcare I need to fork out for as a pose to adopting a child of 3/4 who would be at school when I returned to work. Have so much to offer a child - feel sad that finances could hold me back.

non means tested allowances are extremely rare. I have an in principle commitment until my son is 18 or 21, whenever he leaves full time education, but it is reviewd every year. In two years time I will have paid off my mortgage and will have to increase my working hours for pension reasons. I expect this to impact on the allowance. Remember also that the allowance attaches to a child, not to you as an adopter. Its about the needs of the child, at the moment there is no child so your SW cannot give you any gaurantees about an allowance. Its also paid by the placing authority, so if you adopt out of county, the placing LA may have a totally different policy. If your financial positions isnt strong, maybe consider waiting a year or so to improve things. My change of job delayed me by a year but it was exactly the right thing to do, put me in a much stronger position and benefited both me and the child who is now my stroppy teenager. I was in my late 30s when I started thinking about adoption, 42 when I applied, 46 wheh my son came home, so don't worry too much about your age, particularly if you are younger than I was

Although tempting just be careful with the payment holiday on your mortgage, depends on individual terms and conditions but although mine would have been happy to agree one they then quoted increased payments (quite significantly) when payments started again which would have caused more problems!

I found that I was entitled to tax credits when my salary dipped/dwindled to zero whilst on adoption leave but when I first applied I did not qualify as it was based on my earnings in the previous financial year - so I went into my overdraft but then received a large back payment. I do receive adoption allowance (and DLA) but AA was awarded due to my son's needs and being v hard to place rather than my limited earning power as a single adopter. One thing that helped me is if people asked what gift they could give I asked if they could contribute to annual passes/lessons so my family paid for parent/child swimming lessons and a pass to our local play farm which really helped.

I'm a bit late to this conversation but thought it might be useful to chip in with my own experiences so far - I'm a single adopter 6 months into my adoption leave (I'm taking a full year). My employer's adoption pay isn't great so that's now finished and I'm now just on statutory adoption pay (£140ish a week) and child benefit, but that means I'm entitled to Universal Credit as my area has switched from tax credits to UC. I get around £850 a month in UC - a fair chunk of this is for housing costs because I rent (I think you have a mortgage?) and I don't think you get help with mortgage payments in the same way so you would need to check this out. But basically despite all the bad press about UC it has actually worked out well for me and I'm covering all my bills so far without dipping in to savings (note if you have more than £6k savings you start to lose some UC entitlement). The other thing to consider is your outgoings may go down considerably. I don't know what kind of lifestyle you're living now, but I'm finding we have a very simple (but truly lovely and enjoyable) life. My son is 14 months old, we spend our days going to baby groups that cost £1, we go to the park now it's nicer weather, we go for the odd coffee with other mums, sometimes we splash out on soft play which costs a whole £2! I barely spend anything on petrol. We're going on two holidays but in the UK in static caravans out of season, with other family members - so cheap compared to holidays I used to go on! I don't go away for weekends to London, I don't go out for meals, go for drinks after work. I wear the same old jeans and hoodies that I don't mind getting yogurt and banana on. Everyone has bent over backwards to be helpful - I've been given two buggies, a high chair, a travel cot, loads of clothes and toys - people hear "adoption" and it brings out the generosity in people. I just wanted to say that in my experience so far it has been totally doable if you're prepared to be happy with a simple life. It will get tougher in the 3 months when I have no SAP but I'll still get UC, then I plan to go back to work 3 days a week, at which point I think I still get some help towards housing costs, and also childcare costs through UC, I found the benefit calculators on www.entitledto.co.uk and www.turn2us.org.uk useful in working out different scenarios and whether you're in a UC area. I guess my message is, don't let finances put you off. Adopting my son is the best thing I've ever done, I'd forego a thousand foreign holidays and nights out for the joy he gives me every day - I know that sounds cheesy but it's true!

I too am a single adopter and self-employed so no adoption leave/pay or even statutory for me sadly. I saved a lot first time round which allowed me to take 6months off after which time I went back to work a couple of days a week initially. I only work part time and so my salary reduced to the point where I became eligible for tax credits. I also get child benefit. My AD receives DLA which has been a lifeline. I am now doing foster to adopt with #2 and have been receiving foster carer allowance (only about £140 per week) but am trying to do a little bit of work to keep cash coming in. Crazy times. Anything is possible! My mortgage company don't do mortgage holidays and, as others have said, adoption allowance relates to the child so I would suggest you abandon that idea! Good luck

one of the benefits of foster to adopt/early permanence is that you'd get paid a foster carers allowance (in addition to whatever your adoption leave payments are), which you could set aside for when the adoption leave payments end), and you will probably get a grant/payment to buy essentials for the child like cot/pushchair etc there is a calculator on the gov.uk website that will help you work out what your payments will be on a weekly or monthly basis, which I found really helpful. I'm lucky that my work pays enhanced adoption leave in line with it's maternity leave policy, but for the last 12 weeks of the year I'd be on zero - which is where Keep In Touch (or KIT) days will be invaluable - I don't know if they're a statutory thing, but I can have up to ten days in the lead up to returning to work, and I'd be paid at my daily rate, so I've already discussed with my manager using these at one a week, to at least have some income so I can try and take the full year off. I can't see who mentioned it, but I didn't know about tax credits being possible during adoption leave, so will investigate that further too. really like the tip about building up a supply of non-perishables too.