Many of us accept the necessity of looking closely at different options when we’re say, buying furniture, a car or indeed a new outfit.

Even the most conscientious shopper however, may find it something of an emotional challenge to think about shopping for their own funeral.

True, it sounds odd but if you’re determined not to be a financial burden on your family and friends after your death, then you might need to take the subject a little more seriously than many of us perhaps do today.  Here’s an explanation as to why that’s the case.

Funerals are expensive

We may all share the above sentiment but in many cases we don’t really have a figure in mind.

In fact, official figures show that a typical average funeral in the UK now costs around £4,000 – and potentially a lot more depending upon where you live.

At this stage, your reaction is going to be governed by your own financial position and what you consider to be the value of any estate you leave behind you. Perhaps that’s so substantial that costs such as those above can easily be met from it. If so, you might rest a little easier but if not, you perhaps should worry a little about just how your family will find such sums after your death.

Even if you are fortunate enough to be leaving monies to your loved ones, keep in mind that the cost of funerals has skyrocketed in recent years and the indications are that they will continue to do so. People quote different figures but many suggest that prices have increased by around 75% over the past 5-7 years.

So, the next obvious question is – even if your estate could afford today’s funeral prices, would it be able to do so in say 10 years time if price rises continue at their current rate?

Peace of mind – prepaid funeral plans

One possible answer is to compare funeral plans with a view to potentially taking one out.

What is a funeral plan?

To explain – as a very crude rule of thumb, it’s not always a good idea to buy something in advance when you’re not sure you’ll need it. At best, that’s certainly a risky or at worst, arguably poor use of your money.

There are two things about funerals though that, from an economist’s point of view, make things different:

• you can be virtually absolutely certain that one day you’ll die and need a funeral. There’s little or no chance of avoiding that;
• the rate of cost increases in this area is such that it might make sense to typically purchase elements of your funeral, in advance, at today’s prices rather than at whatever the costs are in the future when you eventually die.

Prepaid funeral plans have therefore evolved to allow you to purchase and pay for, over time (perhaps usually around 12 months), large elements of your eventual funeral costs. It couldn’t be easier. You simply compare funeral plans, agree the terms with the provider and then pay the sum involved.

It’s peace of mind today for you and for your family in future once you’ve passed away. They can get on with grieving and remembering your life rather than worrying about how they’ll deal with your funeral bills.

It might be sensible to find out more.