The desire to put your affairs in order can be triggered by many things. One of the most common prompts is the stress of arranging a funeral for someone else, perhaps a parent.
Positive life changes, such as children leaving home and looking ahead to a comfortable retirement could also act as triggers for making funeral arrangements. Here are some of the practical and emotional benefits of preparing for the future.
It makes sense to think about and provide for whatever the next phase of your life might bring. Planning your own funeral and making the necessary arrangements ensures that you’ve prepared for the one event that none of us can avoid!
With funeral costs rising faster than inflation, funeral pre-planning is a sound decision. It fixes the cost of your cremation at today’s prices, so your family won’t have to pay a penny more in the future.
Funeral plans are safe and also take away the stress and worry regarding your funeral wishes – the people you leave behind will know exactly what to do, and that the costs are all covered.
Sometimes, the way you look at something makes all the difference. It’s much more enjoyable to think about the highlights of your life and the parts you want to celebrate than to think about your death and funeral arrangements.
Yet celebrating life can be at the very heart of planning your own funeral. Making your funeral wishes ahead of time, you can liberate your family and friends from some of the emotional burden of mourning and help them say farewell the way you’d prefer.
Making funeral plans ahead of time means you can discuss your last wishes with the ones you love. The idea of having ‘the chat’ may feel daunting but helping everyone focus on how to celebrate those key moments and memories will make this much easier.
And remember, the benefits are worth it – funeral plan holders and their families tell us that this forward-thinking will let them concentrate on supporting each other when it matters most.
Planning a funeral and putting your funeral wishes in writing will avoid any doubt or disagreement about your instructions.
Make sure these can be found easily, along with your other important papers. This is particularly important if you haven’t been able to discuss your plans with family.
Do you have life insurance, a funeral plan, or do you expect your family to cover the costs? The most common options for covering funeral expenses are:
A pre-paid funeral plan gives you the most control over the arrangements as it sets out your wishes and contains a detailed description of the funeral service that will be provided.
Some funeral plans will tie you to a particular provider or network of funeral homes, others leave your family to decide which firm carries out the plan.
A Pure Cremation is a distinctive alternative to a traditional funeral – it’s a simple, cremation-only service, so you won’t pay for anything you don’t want or need. You can rest assured that your cremation is fully paid for, and it doesn’t matter how fast funeral prices rise.
The most satisfying farewell events reflect the life, relationships, and beliefs of the person who has died.
Here is a funeral arranging checklist featuring the points you might want to think about:
Making a personal contribution to the farewell can make a real difference to the grief journey. When you look at the list of things to consider, you’ll see that there are many different ways to involve family members that want to play a part in the proceedings.
Most people don’t know how to arrange a funeral, and that’s why your family might end up spending more on a fancier affair than you’d choose for yourself. When you plan your own funeral, you’re in control of the style and the budget.
It only takes a few minutes to set up a pre-paid funeral plan and it can cost less than you might think, which means you can relax and get on with enjoying life!
There are two main types of pre-paid funeral plans – a trust-based plan that you can pay in a single lump sum or over a fixed time period, and a plan featuring continuous payment of a low monthly premium based on your age at the time of purchase.
Pure Cremation offers both pre-paid funeral plan types and every client receives a My Funeral Wishes card to carry. Find out more about our funeral plans or request a free guide to learn if these plans work for you.