Funeral costs - are you prepared for the future?

Funeral costs – are you prepared for the future?

With my parents living in Spain and now being in their seventies we’ve talked quite openly about death, funeral arrangements and their wishes.  I don’t see it as a taboo subject, I’d certainly much rather that people were aware of my own wishes and I, theirs. Life is unpredictable and it makes sense to me to be prepared for the future.

I’ve lost two father in-laws in the last 10 years and have been amazed at the costs involved. Apparently SunLife have discovered that the cost of a funeral has risen 88% since 2004. How scary is that.

Infographic-cost-of-basic-funeral

 

I know my parents have things covered, but actually should anything happen suddenly to us I’m not sure we could find nearly £4,000 instantly.  It’s certainly made me think about making sure that not only are our wishes written down, but that money is set aside to cover costs at a time of anguish for those left behind.

It’s not only the funeral itself that needs to be considered. It horrifies me that you need to pay to keep your plot/memorial over a certain time period.  I recently discovered that the memorial plaque to remember one of my dearest friends has been removed.  Although his ashes remain in situ, along with the rose, the ‘rental’ period for the plaque has expired after 15 years.  Sadly I’m not in touch with his family, so I have no idea of their circumstances, or the reasons why the lease has lapsed.  But it really did upset me, the thought that one day soon I could be standing there and someone else’s memorial plaque will be in his place.  I’d hate to think it had lapsed for financial reasons, but then I think it’s hideous that you aren’t given a plot/space for a lifetime without it breaking the bank in the first place.

disclaimer:  this is a collaborative post

1 thought on “Funeral costs – are you prepared for the future?

  1. It’s one of those things (like a will) that’s on my list to do, and really more people should do.

    My mum did a prepaid plan, so the only thing we had to pay for hers was any finalised church costs that were extras (eg bells – bad that they’re not included really). She even planned everything including notes about herself for the person doing her eulogy. It was a real help for us who really just had to find a date and speak to the vicar to confirm the hymns she’d wanted. So much less stress at a hard time for those family members left.

    My nan on the other hand hasn’t got anything sorted out, so when she goes we’ll be organising a funeral for someone, in a town an hour away and we have no idea what she would have wanted apart from assuming the location would be the same as where her husband (and her ex-husband, our grandad) had their cremations.

I'd love to hear from you and try to reply to all comments