One of the pillars of sensible financial management is the concept of saving for a rainy day. Most of us will have some savings set aside for emergencies like car repairs or unexpected time off work, while we have insurance policies in place for our homes, possessions and even our health.
One area that’s often overlooked when it comes to putting money aside is our funerals. In all honesty, no one really wants to give much thought about these things unless we really have to. While it’s a bit of a grim area for discussion, making an appropriate plan for the inevitable can save your family a lot of trouble at what will undoubtedly be a difficult time.
It’s sensible to plan for the expenses we expect in the future to avoid scrambling around to pay for them when they happen. We’ve all had to scrape together a mortgage payment or pay a credit card bill we could’ve done without, but addressing and planning for the cost in advance makes everything much easier.
Planning a funeral in advance is much the same idea. When the inevitable happens, hopefully a long, long time from now, it’s comforting to know that everything will already be in place. Your loved ones will know your wishes, and by ensuring the cost of the funeral is covered ahead of time you’re also avoiding leaving your family with a financial burden.
Alongside the actual expense of the funeral, it also makes a lot of financial sense to make arrangements early. The cost of funerals is rising considerably, with the average cost of a funeral in 2021 projected to be more than double what it was in 2007. If costs continue to climb at a similar rate, investing in a funeral plan early could save your family a small fortune in the future.
Many people think that they’ll have the costs of their funeral met by other means, such as their savings or their life insurance. But in the current financial environment, with interest rates low and funeral costs rising sharply, there’s not always a guarantee that the costs will be met.
The benefit of investing in a pre-paid funeral plan is that the vast majority will meet the cost of all the arrangements, no matter how much you’ve paid in or how far in the future the event actually takes place. If the cost of funerals continues to rise and you (hopefully!) live a long and healthy life, you could be looking at a saving of thousands.
We all have plenty of financial obligations as things stand, but it’s worth taking the time to make arrangements to cover these expenses ahead of time. While it’s something we’d all rather avoid discussing, creating a plan now can save a lot of stress and a lot of money down the road.