Why You Should Preplan Your Funeral

They say that fortune favours the prepared, and it’s easy enough to see why that might be true. When you’re organized, when you have all of your ducks in a row, things fall into place more easily, things happen more smoothly because you’re ready for them. While we apply this reasoning to all facets of our lives, we’re less keen on planning for our funerals. 

It’s easy enough to understand why; people often shy away from thinking about death. Nonetheless, it’s an incredibly important, generous thing to do. Death is an inevitable part of life, more certain than anything else you might plan for. There are a lot of good reasons to pre-plan your funeral.

For Your Loved Ones

The death of a loved one is an incredibly emotional and challenging time. Difficulties are compounded by all the work that has to be done; not only are you suddenly grieving, you also have to suddenly make a lot of important decisions, usually without enough information or experience. While funeral directors will try as best they can to guide the bereaved through the process, it can still be exceptionally difficult. 

By pre-planning your funeral, you take a lot of this weight off of your loved ones; they won’t feel overwhelmed by all of the options and decisions that come with funeral planning. You can speak with them about your pre-planned funeral well in advance, and you can leave detailed instructions accompanied by your will with the funeral director.

Loved ones often struggle when it comes to planning a funeral, as everyone will have their own ideas about how things should take place. They may not make the decisions that you would make for yourself. Eliminate conflict and strife in the family by planning your service in advance. 

With the recent pandemic in mind, it is more important than ever to realize that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Prevent your family members from carrying the additional stress and burden of planning a funeral in the wake of your passing. Preparation is key to giving everyone the peace of mind they need to navigate through these trying times. 

For Peace Of Mind

Thinking about how your loved ones might arrange a funeral for you can be a difficult exercise. You might consider conflicts that could occur between them, and the ways that they might represent your life may not be in line with how you want to be remembered. Make things easier on everyone by spelling out your preferences and wishes in clear terms by pre-planning your service.  

When you plan your funeral well in advance, you give yourself a sense of agency; you’ll be remembered the way you want to be remembered, and you’ll have provided a sense of calm and relief for your friends and family. It will help the entire process run much smoother for everyone involved while ensuring you get the send-off that you truly want. 

For Financial Stability

Funerals can be costly affairs (though they don’t have to be); many worry about leaving their families with the financial burden. When you plan your funeral in advance, you can set a budget for exactly what you want, and pay for it yourself so your family doesn’t have to worry about costs. This is great for your loved ones because it can take the financial stress off of them - but it is also good for you. 

You can then put away money to use to pay for the funeral; because you’re planning in advance, you’ll have more time to save up enough to get everything you want for your funeral, without having to dip into your savings. As a result, you can leave a larger inheritance for your family after your passing. 

Finding The Right Funeral Home

There’s really no time for “shopping around” when you have to suddenly arrange for someone’s funeral. People tend to feel pressured to make decisions right away when nothing has been planned in advance, and some people feel uncomfortable even thinking about costs when it comes to the sudden passing of their loved ones. They are stressed due to their loss and cannot conceive of going through the process with multiple funeral homes to find the perfect services. 

When you plan in advance, you can find a funeral home that’s well suited to your needs, as well as items that suit your budget. Take time, discuss your wishes with various funeral directors, and find the one that you feel best appreciates your desires, needs and religious requirements.

At Alterna Cremation, we strive to be compassionate, caring, and attentive, while offering all the services you need to pre-plan your funeral. We’ll help you through the pre-planning process, and give you advice on how to talk to your loved ones about your desires. We have a number of services, including helping the bereaved write and publish a Winnipeg obituary, scattering services, and flower arrangements. 

We’ll make sure we plan every detail of the funeral with you, to give you the peace of mind you need. We’ll do it at an affordable cost, so you don’t have to worry about the financial burden, or worry about your family having to pay for it themselves. Funeral pre-planning might not be something everyone thinks about, but once you’ve done it, you’ll feel better.