No one particularly wants to think about it, but part of being human is confronting death, and no one gets out alive. Whether you’re a forward thinker and like to plan for the worst, you consider yourself young and healthy and don’t think you need to worry, or you have an ageing parent you need to prepare for, it’s never a bad idea to begin preparing for the cost of a funeral early.
Here are some things to think about when considering the cost of a funeral:
The Service
This is one of the hardest things to think about, as it will determine how you say goodbye to your loved ones, or how they say goodbye to you. If you’re planning your own funeral, it can actually be nice to think about the things you want to be remembered for, and the things you want to say to the people who are left behind.
Thinking about your own mortality is a good chance to take a look at the life you’re living and reevaluate what’s important to you.
If you’re organising a service for someone else, it’s a good idea to budget for anything that may be included in the service. Your loved one may have a priest or rabbi that they want to perform the service, certain flowers, or music that they would prefer, and flowers can quickly add up so should also be budgeted for.
Pick A Memorial Stone
Once you’ve passed on (or your loved one has), there are only a few places you can go to feel close to them. Typically, this will be a gravesite, and while it’s important that the headstone is visually appealing and represents your personality or the personality of your friend or family member, headstone choice can affect the price, so this is another thing that must be budgeted for.
There are many different styles, materials and colours for memorial stones, and while it may seem overwhelming to choose this before you or your loved one have passed, these are choices that can be excruciatingly difficult when someone has already died.
Think about after the Funeral
After the service has been performed, and the body has been laid to rest, mourners will usually be invited to a wake, which is a more light-hearted experience and will usually involve remembering the good times of someone’s life.
You’ll need to organise a location for this, along with food, drinks and potentially catering and wait staff, depending on how many people will be coming. This can also sometimes be arranged in advance, or you can leave money with a friend or family member so this can be quickly taken care of along with the rest of the funeral expenses- making the hard time a little easier and reducing the costs of the entire process.
As you can see, there are many ways to prepare for the cost of a funeral, and it makes sense to get this out of the way before it’s actually necessary.