Planning and paying for your funeral ahead of time is often encouraged by funeral homes and insurance companies. They have their reasons, which they say are for your benefit – not theirs. The main benefits are not being a burden on your family or having the funeral you want.
Somehow, I think most people won’t mind too much what happens at their funeral. Yes, it sounds nice to be able to do some pre-planning and having a few things you would like. But it isn’t essential and in some ways it doesn’t make things much easier. However if you have a pre-plan with a funeral home, it is mainly for their benefit.
Having relevant information is handy. Contact people, lawyer, personal info for death certificate, hidden treasure… We have a booklet called a ‘File and Forget’. You write in the information you want and you keep it for your use. We don’t keep it or lock you into any contract. It’s just a handy booklet for your own personal records.
Naturally the guilt of financial burden is a great, I mean subtle, tactic to open your chequebooks (well not now – because there are no chequebooks. But you know what I mean. If you don’t what I mean, ask an old person). The assumption that a funeral will be expensive is nothing new. But more and more people are realising that they don’t need to shell out several thousands of dollars for a proper decent funeral.
The financial burden placed on families can be intense. And there is no reason for it. There are many ways to say goodbye that are far less expensive and still respectful, dignified and meaningful. I could say you just need to look outside the box, but I don’t think that’s the right metaphor here.
Now there are people who love planning and writing lists and ticking off tasks. So if that is you, there is nothing stopping you pre-planning your funeral. And if you want to put money aside, just make another bank account that you have complete control over.
What I’m saying is that you can plan and you can not plan your funeral. It really is up to the individual. But don’t let the tactics of advertisers and others scare you into doing something you don’t need to do. And especially not doing it out of a sense of guilt put on you by others – whoever they may be.
The funeral industry is a multi-million dollar business, that is built upon how much they can get out of families. So many tactics are used to keep the funds coming in at your expense.
Even with no pre-plan a funeral can still happen with little stress and a lot of dignity. Death is not something we like to dwell on too much. Yet it is something we all will face one day. Our goal is making the funeral process more natural and easier for families to deal with. Because ultimately it isn’t the funeral itself but the person and the people who loved that person who are most important.
