6 reasons why you should plan your own funeral

If you have had to arrange a loved one’s funeral or been closely involved in the planning of a funeral, you may have some understanding of the emotional and practical difficulties of the whole process.

From sorting out the finances to choosing the flowers, there are many elements to consider, and decisions to be made all whilst in a cloud of grief.

One day, your loved ones will be doing the same for you. But what if you could somehow reduce this burden?

Even with little experience of funerals, just taking a moment to think of how your family may cope with the responsibility of arranging your funeral may be enough to take action.

In life, we do our best to take care of our loved ones, but we also have the chance to do so in death.

In the US, you may have heard it’s possible to pre-plan and/or prepay your own funeral, each with a number of ways to do so, which can be confusing.

We highlight the 5 major benefits of making either provision:

1. Pay in advance (and avoid rising funeral costs)

Funeral costs have continually risen in the last 40 years and are likely to continue to rise into the future.

There is research to support that the cost of a funeral is increasing faster than the cost of living, meaning many people are likely to take out a loan, use savings or borrow money to cover funeral expenses.

The cost varies across the US, but you’d expect to pay between $6,000 and $10,000 for the average funeral these days.

This is a huge expense that many of us are yet to prepare for.

If you decide to pay in advance, it is sensible first to compare funeral providers, and their prepaid (or preneed) funeral plans.

It is important to choose a reputable funeral home that will provide a pre-need agreement to ensure your money is safe.

Within this agreement your funeral provider can ‘guarantee’ a fixed price for all agreed services and products. So, upon your death, there should be nothing else to pay.

The cost of your funeral will be frozen at today’s price, avoiding rising costs of the future.

Paying for your funeral in advance could mean securing the best possible price today.

The longer you wait to pay for your funeral, the more expensive it will be when you pass away.