They say only the good die young. I disagree. Increasingly, the good are dying older and older.
While this is great news for us living, it does mean we are overspending on our own deaths.
Luckily, we exist to bring you rational guides to life . . .and in this case, death.
Here goes nothing.
What happens when you die?
I’ll use myself as an example. If you’re sick of reading my blogs, this should cheer you up immediately.
So I keel over one day.
First things first. We have to plan the FUNERAL TO END ALL FUNERALS. I want laser lights and a band and paid mourners. The works. So what’s this going to cost me?
A lot.
Today, the average funeral costs between $7,000 and $10,000. You can literally buy a car for that!
Are you average? NO. You are reading this blog, which means you are WELL ABOVE AVERAGE. In that case, your funeral may cost roughly the same and the Tesla Model 3 (which should appear at some point I the future).
Let’s say your funeral costs between $15,000 and $20,000.
STOP.
No one should ever pay that much for a funeral. Period.
I understand the need to celebrate someone’e life (or death depending on who you are), but as rational human beings, we simply can’t afford to spend that much money to place ourselves in a box.
So how do places talk people into spending this much money?
Easy.
Grief.
Funeral homes and cremation centers (yes, that’s a thing) wait until someone passes away and then upsets the service and frills to the unsuspecting family members. Am I saying this is wrong? Not necessarily. We live in a free country.
As rational shoppers, we must be smarter than this.
Ok, so how do you figure out what a funeral SHOULD cost?
You can receive a full price list by visiting a funeral home in person or requesting costs over the phone, thanks to federal law.
Yep, you can call any funeral home in any state and get a price list for all of their services.
Additionally, some state laws require funeral homes to provide price lists upon request by mail.
Since this isn’t 1800, a faster way to compare is to look online at price surveys by the Funeral Consumers Alliance of your respective state.
You can also call the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers for questions and recommendations about services.
The easiest way to learn about funerals and their costs is to talk to your family members and friends.
Shop around too! Just because you do things like plan for funerals and create your estate plan doesn’t mean deaths imminent.
Rational people are prepared for death. Since this isn’t 1800, you are probably going to live longer than 40 years.
Plan ahead and buy something tasteful and cheap.
Cremation is all the rage.
Rational Recommendation:
Go to a funeral website and figure out what you want. Make a written or typed list and try and pre-pay for your funeral and burial. Once it’s paid for, you’re good.
Let your family use that money to buy a car or give it to charity.
Stay Rational
-B&T