How Early Should I Start Pre-planning My Funeral?

Pre-planning a funeral isn’t something that occurs naturally to most people. Most of us living in North America aren’t particularly interested in talking about death. In fact, most of us are quite averse to talking about death.

Nonetheless, the worst time for your funeral to be planned is after you’ve died. When that happens, you leave the planning to your family and friends who are already mired in grief. You should certainly pre-plan your funeral - the question is, when?

The answer, if you’re reading this is - right now. There’s no reason not to pre-plan your funeral, no matter how young you are. As tragic as it is, accidents do happen, and the unexpected can arise.

You might think that the best idea is to pre-plan your funeral when you have enough funds to pay for a funeral. That’s not a bad line of thinking, but keep in mind that pre-planning a funeral and prepaying a funeral are two different things.

The funeral planning process should be an ongoing one. That might seem strange at first, but think about it like this: the person you are today might be pretty different than the person you were a decade ago. That means a number of different things that you might have wanted for your funeral could have changed.

Funerals are multifaceted. Your aesthetics might have changed. You might have new music that’s meaningful to you, or a new quote or poem that you find powerful. Your spiritual and philosophical beliefs might have changed.

Pre-planning your funeral also affords you the opportunity to shop around, looking for the funeral homes who will provide you with the best service for the best rates. You might not know exactly how to shop around for funeral homes, but fear not - our friends down south at the FTC created a guide to shopping for funeral homes.

When pre-planning your funeral, it’s essential that you talk to other people about your plans. Your friends and family may have their own ideas about how your funeral should unfold. You don’t want circumstances to arise in which your loved ones have made purchases related to your funeral that you’re unaware of. Prepayment by relatives is fairly rare, and it almost always occurs with your knowledge - but it’s still a good idea to double-check.

So when should you pre-plan your funeral? Now. You should continue to adjust your plans as time goes on, and you should discuss all of the details with your family and friends, as well. This doesn’t mean you have to prepay for your funeral - just that you need to have an idea of what you want your funeral to look like.

Want more information about pre-planning? Get in touch with our Winnipeg funeral home. We can help you understand all of the elements that go into a funeral, and discuss your options with you.