Planning ahead for a funeral and burial or cremation is a great way to control costs and manage final expenses. If you want to provide your family with peace of mind, preplan your end-of-life services and take steps to reduce your final expenses. This simple checklist demonstrates how easy it can be to take control of your end-of-life planning and cut final expense costs:
1. Think about whether you want a funeral.
Many people think of the funeral as an essential part of saying farewell to a loved one. In reality, though, a funeral adds substantially to final expenses. In fact, average final expenses with a funeral and burial are estimated to be more than $10,000 in many parts of the country – and have the potential to be substantially higher depending on factors such as the cost of the burial plot and the services selected for the funeral itself. Controlling costs when you plan your funeral is one of the easiest ways to manage final expenses – but you don’t have to forego the funeral entirely if you plan ahead and take advantage of options to reduce funeral costs and help with expenses.
2. Decide whether you’d like to be buried or cremated.
The question of burial versus cremation plays a significant role in determining and managing final expenses. Cremation is becoming more popular due to its affordability, but even cremation expenses vary depending on the provider and services selected. Burial is still the more traditional option, but burial expenses add substantially to your final costs. If you choose burial, it’s even more vital to plan ahead to manage your final expenses.
3. Estimate the cost of your final expense
Once you’ve decided on whether to have a funeral, and whether to be cremated or buried, begin calculating your final expenses. It’s important to have a good sense for how much your final expenses will be in order to take the appropriate steps to manage your expenses. If you underestimate your final expenses, you could be leaving your family in the difficult position of being unable to pay for the services you want and honor your wishes. Pre-plan your funeral, cremation, or burial to get a good sense for your final costs.
4. Save on final costs by making arrangements for your future needs
Once you know what your final costs will be, make financial arrangements to help your family cope with your final expenses. Making your own arrangements for final expenses gives you the ability to control your costs, and lets you manage these expenses on your own schedule – instead of leaving your family with thousands of dollars in bills when you pass.
5. Explore final expense insurance and prepayment options
When individuals plan ahead for their final expenses, they take control of costs and make financial arrangements in two ways: through final expense insurance, and through pre-paying for services. Pre-payment gives individuals and families the ability to pay for these costs at a time that’s convenient, and control costs by securing today’s prices for final services.
Final expense insurance is an insurance policy that pays out at the time of death, and gives families a dedicated financial resource to pay for end-of-life expenses. For most families, a combination of these two tools offers the most flexibility to manage final expenses.
Contact Us for Funeral Planning Help
If you’re considering preplanning your funeral to make things easier for your family, we’re here to help. Fill out our form to download our End of Life planning guide, or to request a funeral insurance quote.