10 Good Reasons to Pre-Plan Your Funeral
No matter how much we avoid talking or thinking about it, death is an inevitable reality. Now more than ever, more people are pre-planning their own funerals. We know that can sound odd to some and maybe a little scary too, but there is absolutely no point in hesitating to accept the reality of your own passing and to make things a little easier on your loved ones when that time comes.
Start talking to your friends and family about your final wishes and about what you would want for yourself when you pass (cremation or burial, memorial type and location, funeral service, etc.). You can also take it a step further and write a will (or update your existing will) about what you want done once you pass. You can also purchase your cremation or burial and memorial in advance.
Why Should You Pre-Plan Your Funeral?
Here are 10 good reasons why you should pre-plan your funeral today:
1) Save money
It’s a fact - funerals can be expensive and they’re not getting any cheaper. When someone passes it can be a financially and emotionally tough time for a family. Funeral homes that offer funeral pre-planning services also offer discounts and will often allow you to take time to pay for the funeral costs and make payments over time. In addition, certain memorials like The Living Urn allow you choose what you would like now to help plan your memorial in advance.
2) Have it your way
Your family would definitely do their best to honor you in your funeral or memorial services, but only you know how you'd want to have your final goodbye with them. Pre-planning your funeral helps you make the decisions for yourself. This can include what type of service you want (if any), who you want to speak during the service or memorial event, where you want to have it, and any extras that you want included like music, photos, food, beverages, etc.
3) Ease the financial burden
Your passing will not be easy on family and friends and there are a lot of things your family might have to cater to. Additionally, this may cost a lot of money to your already emotionally struck loved ones. When you pre-plan your funeral, you relieve your family of the hefty funeral bills at a time of deep emotional stress.
4) Shop around
Many of us shop around for hours even just to save a few bucks. Then, why not shop for your own funeral home? Give yourself time to plan for your funeral so that you can find the right funeral service provider or funeral director for yourself and one that meets your needs and budget.
5) Take more time
Most funerals are likely to be held within a week of ones passing which can lead to increased stress and hasty decisions. Planning your funeral in advance helps you to be more methodical about the whole process and gives you the necessary time to think to help make the right decisions for you and your family.
6) The right details
When you take some time to plan your funeral, you can have all the things your way. This means you can focus on the smallest of details - ones that could otherwise be overlooked when the funeral is planned and conducted by someone else. This is important as it allows you to provide a personal service how you would want it to be and keeps any of the guesswork (and stress associated with it) off of family members or friends.
7) Prevent additional stress
The grief of losing a loved one is indescribable. When you pass away, your family and friends will be under a lot of emotional stress. Pre-planning your funeral affairs beforehand will ease the situation for them and give them peace-of-mind that the funeral is just how you wanted it to be,
8) Bring your final wishes to effect
If you prefer burial you can select your cemetery, plot location, headstone, casket, vault, and other details. Alternatively, if you prefer cremation, you can also arrange for this today. Then, if you want your ashes to rest in a specific location or specific urn after you pass, you can specify that in your funeral planning and even purchase an urn or memorial in advance.
9) Ask the right questions
When you’re the person talking directly to your funeral director or cremation service provider, you can ask all your questions related to funeral services and make sure the answers work for you. Without a significant time pressure of having a service right away, this can be done over time and you will not feel as rushed. This helps you (and later your family) feel comfortable that the right choice is being made.
10) Find the right people
The relationship between a family and the funeral director is a very important one. When you pre-plan your funeral, you can take time to speak with multiple funeral directors and find the one who should be able to console your family well, while adhering to your final requests.