
Of all the things you intend to do, planning your funeral is unlikely to be at the top of your list. Well, as a matter of fact, planning your funeral is an equally important task that you must indulge in and there is no right time for doing it. You just have to plan it when you realise its importance and effect on your friends and family.
Discussed below is a simple checklist to plan your own funeral.
Do your research
Before you start planning your own funeral, you must first acquire the necessary information related to your funeral. The three vital components of a funeral are preparing the corpse, holding the ceremony and the final burial process.
Just like you have wedding planner to plan your wedding similarly you have funeral planner who help you to plan your funeral just the way you want. All you have to do is share your requirements and budget with them and they will suggest you suitable options to you for the same.
Learn about the costs involved
There are several costs involved in the entire funeral process. You may or may not be aware about this process. It is essential to acquire necessary information for them so that you do not overpay for them to any of the planners or people involved in the process.
You can start the process by researching prices of the caskets to the cost of final hearse at cemetery.
Buy what you want
Well, you do not have to necessarily purchase everything at once. You can simply buy necessities which you feel like buying or believe to be needful. You do not have to necessarily buy everything and anything they sell for funeral.
Move around the market and know prices of various materials and purchase the ones which you feel are at the best price and are primarily required for your funeral.
Talk and mention your primary needs
If you do not wish to make your funeral purchases right when you are alive then you can simply mention all your needs in a list and leave it for your family. Most households try to avoid funeral conversation especially with their close family but it is equally important subject which everyone should discuss with their family members.
You can list a specific process you wish your funeral should be carried on so that your family has a clear idea about they are supposed to do.
You can also complete your Will process beforehand so that you have clear idea about how much does a Will cost and can precisely mention all necessary details in it.
Join a memorial society
There are some NGO’s which offer estimated prices of local funeral homes and also assistance to plan your funeral. If you wish, you can visit one of them and negotiate with them to acquire additional discounts from the local funeral home. They act like a buyer club for funerals.
You can also carry out online survey on your own by visiting local funeral homes in and around you.
Look for package deals
There are several funeral homes which offer you packages of goods and services in your funeral process. They may wrap some additional services in the package which may or may not need. In other instances, they do not include of the goods and services.
Therefore, before you finalise a particular package look what does it include and ensure that it includes everything that you want. For example, some funeral homes may not provide you with a gravestone and cemetery in their packages.
It is not necessary to pay in advance
There are couple of funeral homes which offer you packages at a better rate if you buy them at a very young age. Although, this gives you assurance that your funeral will be carried out the way you want but these packages have limitations.
Remember, that there is a difference between preppin and prepaying. And, prepaying is major drawback because you may lose a major part of the money paid as cancellation fees if you wish to change the process or no longer want the same funeral process.
Instead, a smart way out is to list down the process of your funeral and share the same with your family so that can carry out the same just the way you want post your demise. This way, you will not lose out money and your family will also have to put limited efforts in the process.
Thanks for pointing out that the three vital components of planning a funeral are preparing the corpse, holding the ceremony and the final burial process. My dad is thinking about planning his own funeral so that he can make sure that the service and burial are done the way that he wants and so that we have less of a burden on us. I think it would be smart for him to talk to a funeral director that can help him plan those three components better and can help make sure that everything will be done correctly once he is gone.