No one is fond of contemplating their death, but when it comes to your desires for a funeral and related arrangements, there are many good reasons to plan it yourself instead of passing it on to your loved ones. The following are a few good reasons to make pre-arrangements as soon as possible.

To avoid undue stress on your loved ones

After your death, those closest to you will be grieving, and the need to decide on where you will be buried or whether you should be cremated can be overwhelming. On top of that, there is the issue of what you want for your funeral. If you can plan everything ahead of time, then at the time of your death, the funeral home can make all the arrangements according to your wishes, and your loved ones can focus their time on remembering you.

You can make sure your wishes are honored

It's one thing to tell your closest loved one what you want after you've died, but that doesn't mean it will happen. If you prepay for your funeral expenses, you are assured that you will get what you asked for. You can choose between burial or cremation. With a burial, you can choose the casket and the burial plot at the cemetery, along with the marker and the inscription, or you can choose to have your casket placed in a mausoleum. If you decide on cremation, you can designate to whom the ashes will be entrusted, and what they should do with them. You can be specific about the funeral. A few examples are flowers, an open or closed casket, and you can even choose the music.

To lock in today's prices

There is no way of knowing how long you will live, and with the future of prices uncertain, you can pay for your funeral expenses now. This will save your loved ones the potentially higher costs of a funeral in the future. Even with a life insurance policy, rising costs can eat away at the proceeds of the policy for your loved one. It is better to pay for funeral expenses today, and let your beneficiary enjoy their inheritance without concern about paying your afterlife expenses.

The time to think about your afterlife expenses should begin now. Although it is not something you may want to contemplate, it is the right thing to do. By planning your funeral and everything it entails, you will be alleviating unnecessary stress from your loved ones at the time of your death. You can pay a funeral home in advance, choosing what you want to include after your death. This locks in the price, and there will be no disagreement about what you wanted.