Preplanning your own funeral can be one of the best gifts you give to your loved ones after you're gone. It's may not seem like it now, but when you think about it, you will realize that you're saving your loved ones from lots of anguish and pain.
So, pre planning the funeral right now so that you can decide on what kind of funeral you want way ahead of time is a smart move. If you're looking to get a low cost funeral, this is even the best time to do it. This is because when you're gone and your family needs to make the necessary arrangements, the funeral directors may rip off your family by charging them too much or getting them to pay a lot more than they would normally pay. So to pre plan the funeral, here are a few tips to begin with.
1. Save Up Or Buy An Insurance Package
As simple as this sounds, you will be shocked at how many people completely and totally ignore it. Think about it this way: if you were to save up to $50 a month for the funeral starting now, in 10 years you would've saved up $6000. If that money were to be put in a savings account, and it could yield a compound interest, that will translate to a minimum of $10,000 in 10 years. So as you can see, just saving covers for the funeral.
You could also take out an insurance package. If you want you can purchase a life insurance or funeral insurance policy. It all depends on what you need. Most funeral insurance policies will not grant you any claims within two years of your taking it up. But after two years, the family has a right to claim the compensation and benefits.
2. Purchase Your Own Cremation Urn And Casket
Cremation urns on the other hand can be easily bought and kept in the house and nobody would feel uneasy about it. Caskets on the other hand, cannot be bought and kept just like that. So what you can do is to contact the casket makers or the funeral home that you intend to use and inform them of what kind of casket you have in mind. This way when the time comes, they can easily produce it for you.
3. Create an Ethical Will
The next thing you want to do is to create an ethical will. An ethical will is basically a list of wishes concerning your funeral. It is unlike the normal will which includes a list of your wishes regarding your assets, investments and properties. So, an ethical will should include the things that you need or want done, arrangements and funds available, include information as to where and how family members can get funding for your funeral.
4. Make Arrangements For The Funeral Director
You should also make an arrangement with the funeral director of your choice. In fact, this is good because you get to secure discounts on many things that people generally pay more to get. Also, you may need to inform them of how you intend to pay for the funeral. Whatever the case may be, never tell the funeral director how much your insurance is worth. The most important thing they just need to know, is that when the time comes, they would know which insurance company to contact to make the payment for the funeral.
These simple steps will save your loved ones a lot of time and you'll have a very nice and trouble free funeral.
