If you have decided that it would be good for your family to plan your own final services ahead of time, you might look through the options and decide that cremation services are the right path for you. Cremation is generally simple and costs less than a funeral. But your family members might want the best for you when that time comes and if you left the planning to them, you know they might go overboard. Instead, you plan ahead and keep things simple, as you want them to be. Here are a few things you can do to figure it all out as you move ahead with your life.
To keep things simple and cost-effective, you might want to plan ahead for your family members, and pay ahead as well. Pre-payment can take the burdens off your family even further. When you figure out what you want, and know that you want things to be simple, planning it out and paying ahead can help you to get your needs met while you take care of your family—and keep things downplayed when the time comes.
Funeral home and cremation providers are there to help you with all of the details. They want you to know that they have things under control and have your best interest at heart. They will often have cremation packages lined up for you so you can look through those, see the bottom line costs, and get everything you need ready in one place. These packages include everything you have to have and it’s nice to know that’s all you have to get. Once you choose a package, you know what the cost is and you can pay for it and have peace of mind that in the future, everything you need is ready and waiting for you.
The cremation package is all you have to have, but unless you tell your family members that you don’t want a memorial, they might want to have something to honor you. Having a memorial can also be a good outlet for their grief. Instead of leaving it up to them, you might want to arrange that memorial yourself so you can keep it low-key and cost-effective. You can ask for them to have a family dinner in your home, for example. Everyone brings a dish and no one has to pay for much. Or you can ask them to attend a ball game as a group since you loved the sport yourself. There are plenty of low-cost thing you could consider laying out for your family.
It’s also a nice thing to do to choose your resting place as somewhere that is free or low in cost. Ask your family to scatter your ashes, perhaps, in a special location, or to keep them in a family home.
The cremation provider can help you with the options and help you to keep things budget-friendly and simple.