Avoiding Emotional Overspending During Bereavement

When planning a loved one’s funeral, it can be easy to let your grief overwhelm you. Funeral plans can come with a variety of spending costs, from the casket options to burial plots. This article will offer some suggestions for ways that you and your family can avoid emotional overspending during the bereavement period. Finding the compromises you are all comfortable with can help you make the most of your loved one’s service without going overboard.

Planning Ahead

One of the best ways to avoid overspending during a funeral is to plan. Funeral pre-planning services allow individuals and couples to pre-select and begin paying down funeral expenses. Pre-planning also takes the guesswork out of what your loved one may have wanted for their funeral wishes. 

Funeral directives can also be planned with an estate attorney. A funeral directive is a document that can express the wishes of an individual for their funeral after death. The directive may also include instructions regarding funding for the funeral services. Your loved one should have notified loved ones if they have a funeral directive. If you are unsure if they do, contact their estate attorney upon their death (this is generally a good idea for any passing).

Ask Questions While They Are Alive

If your loved one does not want to pre-plan, it can be important to at least understand their wishes. Below are some common funeral-planning questions that you may want to go over with a loved one in the event of their passing. 

• Burial or cremation?
• Do you have a preferred funeral home?
• Who are the important family members you want contacted after your death?
• Would you want a big memorial service or a smaller, more intimate one?
• Who would you want to speak at your funeral?
• Do you have any preferences on caskets or urns?

Decisions to Be Made

Once you are at the funeral home to plan your loved one’s service, there are many options to choose from. And they often come with different price tags. Families should be prepared to navigate these choices based on their loved one's wishes while keeping budgetary needs in mind. The room for the service, casket or urn styles, floral arrangements, and more can all vary in price. Feel free to ask your funeral director for help in navigating cost options. Understanding where spending may be necessary, and where to be modest, may not be simple.

Consider Where Your Budget Falls

Some families will spend most of their savings on a funeral, while others choose to work within the confines of specific expenditures. Life insurance policies, funeral pre-planning, family trusts, and other avenues for budgetary spending may have been set up previously. If your loved one is a veteran, they may be entitled to have most or all of their service covered by the VA. Some unions offer funeral cost coverage options, as well.

Avoiding Upsells Where You Want

There are many aspects of the funeral planning process that can include upgrades and upsells. The goal of the funeral director is to provide you and your family with a memorial service. There are many areas of the planning process where upgrades can be made. Deluxe caskets, customized headstones, eclectic urn designs, flower arrangements, and memorial keepsake jewelry are all areas where there is practically no limit to spending. 

Taking Time to Consider

Some aspects of the funeral come up quickly, such as the casket and service itself. Other things, such as the design of the headstone, may take a bit more time. Consider taking things one step at a time and focusing on what choices need to be made in the moment. 

Deciding As a Family

Work with your family to determine where you want to spend, and where to limit costs. For example, some families will choose to spend less on the casket interior and more on the memorial headstone customization. Some families will forgo floral arrangements in favor of donations to a charity in their loved one’s name. Striking a balance that the family is comfortable with is important to avoiding emotional overspending.

Matthew Funeral Home does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice via articles. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, financial, or medical advice.
For over 50 years, Matthew Funeral Home has been serving the Staten Island community. We can help with almost every aspect of your loved one’s memorial service. Our family is here to serve yours, every step of the way.