How to Save on Funeral Costs

You might think that planning and preparing for your funeral is something you just have to put off at a much later date in your life, most especially if you are in your prime age. Funerals may be something you would not want to tackle, talk about, and face head on because well, it is really scary. But no matter how scary it might be, it still is a reality that everyone would have to deal with and face – it is the cycle of life. You may not consider it such a big deal, but did you know that funeral costs have gone up so much since the past years. Funerals back in 2004 would only cost you £1,920 on average. Funeral costs in the present day are now at an all-time high ranging from £3,500 up to £5,000 on average, and it would only continue to rise each year following of course the annual escalation of the country’s inflation rate. On average, the inflation rate per annum is at 1.5 to 2%. Which means that the cost of funerals would rise by that much per year on a minimum. If you want to save on funeral costs – no matter when you would spend out for it, you should be prepared and get a prepaid funeral plan.

Funeral Costs Today Vs Prepaid Funeral Costs

If you were to spend and plan for a funeral right now, you would need to have around £4,000 to £5,000 if the deceased would want a burial and only around £3,500 to £4,000 if it were a cremation. That is an amount which is not at all easy to come by, most especially if the passing of your loved one is untimely and unexpected. This amount represents all of the costs of planning a funeral, including preparing a memorial service for the deceased. With prepaid funeral plans, you would have the option to choose from different packages that range in values such as £2,899, £3,349, £4,144, or the most expensive £4,599. All of which you have the option to pay for straightforwardly, or if you want it to be more affordable, you could spread it out for a couple of months for smaller monthly payments instead of a lump sum. Not only will it be able to cost you less compared to the current average funeral costs today, but the value of the funeral you paid for today would not even move or increase even if you pay for it within two or three years.

Beating Annual Inflation While Setting Money Aside

Because you have a more convenient option of spreading the payment of the total value of your chosen prepaid funeral package, you would not have to set up a separate savings account for your future. Some people set aside a certain percentage of their earnings for each month for savings, emergencies, and other contingencies such as a funeral. But if you plan ahead of time, it would not have to be a problem because you would have already incorporated it early on when your money still had a lower value compared to twenty or fifty years from now when the cost of goods and services has already ballooned so much. Preparing for a funeral ahead time would allow for you to actually beat the continuous rise of costs due to inflation and other economic factors. So you could actually say that it is a pretty wise investment to make especially while you are still young and able to work hard.

Prepaid Funeral Plans are Transferable

What makes prepaid funeral plans great is that you could transfer it to your loved ones. If an untimely and unexpected death occurs within your family and that family member does not have a prepaid funeral plan or his or her immediate family members could not afford to pay for a funeral, you have to option to transfer your existing plan to the deceased. That way, not only will they be able to afford a funeral for their deceased loved one, but it would also cost much less than the average funeral costs at the time of his or her passing. When this happens, you could easily just get a new prepaid funeral and still be on your way to a better management of your finances because you would not have to let your family pay for a highly ludicrous price for your funeral when that dreaded day comes. It would also serve as a safety net for the people you would leave behind that they would not have to find difficult ways or apply for loans just to come up with money for your funeral. In fact, these days, more and more people are actually having a hard time with paying for funeral costs that most families just opt to donate the bodies of their deceased loved ones on scientific researches and projects. It is a sad reality, but it can be avoided if you just make smart money decisions regarding it.