Looking for finance tips when using a surrogate? Figuring out how to navigate through the financial aspects can be challenging and overwhelming. There are many different areas of surrogacy that require careful budgeting and planning, so it's important to start off with a solid plan. These tips will help you navigate the financial decisions you'll need to make when the time comes to start the process.
- Consider all your options
- Set up a health insurance plan
- Open a flex-spending account
- Dedicate a savings account for your child
- Cover your other expenses
- Consider All Your Options
Surrogacy can be very costly. Luckily there are many different ways to fund your journey.
Grants: There are many different surrogacy grant options you can apply to help cover medical and travel expenses, legal fees, as well as any payment to the agency you choose.
Fundraising: You can fundraise to get some extra money to use towards your surrogacy costs. One great way to do this is to set up a GoFundMe for family and friends so they can contribute to your journey.
Donations of material goods: Donations of material goods can be as helpful as money. Friends and family with older children may have hand-me-down furniture, clothes, and toys. Using secondhand items can save money to put towards the cost of your surrogacy journey.
- Set Up a Health Insurance Plan
Your surrogate's personal medical insurance may not cover her pregnancy. Often, there are "surrogacy exclusions" which allow an insurance company to deny payment for any services relating to a surrogate pregnancy. But, just like any pregnancy, your surrogate will have to attend many appointments with her OBGYN throughout the pregnancy. And of course, there is the cost of the birth!
Your surrogacy agency can refer you to a surrogacy insurance specialist who can help you determine whether your surrogate's current medical insurance coverage is sufficient. They can also assist you with obtaining a surrogate-friendly health insurance policy to cover her pregnancy.
- Open a Flex-Spending Account
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) allows you to put a portion of your income directly towards healthcare expenses. With an FSA, you can allocate a certain percentage of your direct deposit, so you don't have to think or worry about putting the extra money aside. Another terrific benefit to an FSA is that the money spent on medical expenses is tax-free.
While your surrogate's expenses are not eligible for reimbursement with an FSA, you can use the funds to cover copays and any other health-related expenses you may incur as you complete your portion of the surrogacy process.
This means that the money you use on your appointments, medications, check-ups, and overall healthcare won't be taxed, and you'll have that extra money to set aside for future expenses.
- Dedicate a Savings Account for Your Child
Putting money aside and budgeting for your child is just as important as budgeting for your surrogate.
Tips:
- Open a saving account for all the costs of parenting. This includes the essentials like furniture, clothing, diapers, toys, baby monitors, and other necessary supplies.
- Consider setting up a college savings fund for your child. Investing $250 each month from birth will end up accumulating around $80,000 by the time your child is ready for college, trade school, or to go directly into a career.
- Cover Your Other Expenses
It's easy to get overwhelmed when welcoming a child, especially in terms of the financial burdens associated with surrogacy. There are so many other expenses involved in your life in addition to those associated with having children.
- Student Loans: Student loans might be something you're still working to pay off. Work with your lender to come up with a set monthly payment plan that you'll be able to manage with your other expenses.
- Housing: A 30-year fixed-mortgage is a great option. This type of mortgage is ideal for those who plan on growing their family in the same home for many years. You'll also get the security of a fixed interest rate, so there won't be any surprises along the way.
Now It's Time to Develop Your Plan
The tips above will help if you use them to create a personalized budgeting plan for your surrogacy journey. There are many different expenses that families have. Once you've considered all your expenses and how much money you need to allocate for them, it's important to put money aside for emergencies. This can be an unexpected medical expense, car repair, or home renovation. It's crucial that you have money put aside for those unexpected expenses, so you aren't forced to take money from elsewhere to make up for these costs.
Parents using a surrogate have a lot of expenses to figure out, and it can definitely be a challenge. The good news is that the hard work and stress all pay off when you get to welcome your new baby home!
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Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants, has been a prominent leader in reproductive medicine for over two decades. Through her strategic vision and dedication, she has developed Family Source Consultants into a globally recognized agency specializing in comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy services. Under Staci’s leadership, the agency has become a trusted partner for intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors worldwide, known for its rigorous standards, compassionate support, and commitment to excellence in third-party reproduction.
Her professional insight is uniquely informed by her own family-building experiences. As an intended parent, Staci welcomed her son via gestational surrogacy in 2005, and as a known egg donor, she assisted an infertile couple in expanding their family. These experiences lend a rare depth to her leadership and have fueled her ongoing dedication to ethical, empathetic, and professional support within the field of reproductive medicine.
