Have you ever considered what will happen after you pass on? Have you ever given much thought to your own funeral? The cost of an average funeral can be extremely expensive for most people. If you don't want your loved ones to potentially go thousands of dollars into debt just to cover your final expenses, now is the time to start making plans and arrangements. By doing this now, you'll help to ensure that these last costs won't be a burden to your loved ones. Some things you can do now include:
Purchase a casket: Aside from the necessary plot of land, caskets can be the biggest expense where funerals are concerned. There are fancy caskets and plain caskets, even caskets that come in your favorite sports team's colors. Take the time while you're alive to choose the casket that you'd like. Instead of wasting money on a casket that is overpriced because they think it's what you want, your loved ones will be able to use your pre-purchased casket for your funeral. If you don't have an attic, basement, or crawl space in which to store your casket until it's time to be used, there are various suggestions online on how to conceal a casket as an ordinary piece of furniture.
Set aside money, not a burial plot: Taken at face value, it can seem like a good idea to buy a burial plot now. But if there is at all a possibility that you might move to another city even one more time, avoid buying a plot now. Shipping a body from one city to another can be expensive and complicated. It may be cheaper and easier for your relatives to make one last trip to you for the funeral than to arrange to have your body and casket shipped back to them. Having money set aside for both the funeral and the burial plot will help with these expenses. For similar reasons, don't pre-pay for an entire funeral ahead of time either.
Make a list of last requests: This can be a list of things to do and also things not to do at your funeral. For example, huge displays of flowers can cost hundreds of dollars apiece. In lieu of flowers, you might request that anything leftover from your funeral savings will be donated to your favorite charity. You might also request to have a closed casket funeral so that your loved ones don't have to pay for the expense of embalming.
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