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"Answer One Question and Save Thousands of Dollars" |
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Discuss the following question with your loved ones and write down your answers:
“How expensive should my overall final arrangements be?” |
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| When someone we love dies, “death care” businesses sometimes prey on our vulnerability by
aggressively pushing very expensive and profitable “premium” products and services. In our
grief and uncertainty, we end up spending huge sums of money to “show” how much we care. |
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When discussing the cost of final arrangements, don’t feel obliged to come up with an exact
dollar amount. Instead, focus on general guidelines such as “very inexpensive”, “moderate
cost”, “higher priced” or “premium”, or a dollar range that conveys your general wishes, but
allows some flexibility. |
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| There can be a dramatic range of prices for funeral products and services, even within a single
establishment. All too often, people left behind have no idea at all about their departed loved
one’s preferences. |
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| A casket or coffin, for example, can range in price from about three hundred dollars to more
than twenty thousand dollars, depending upon materials, manufacturing methods, and the
seller’s profit markup. Also, the exact same casket, from the same manufacturer, may cost
thousands of dollars more at one establishment versus another, even when only a few miles
apart. |
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For more consumer advice about funeral purchases, as well as information about your legal
rights, read the Federal Trade Commission’s free publication “Funerals: A Consumer Guide”.
It’s available on the Web at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/services/funeral.shtm or by calling toll-free
1-877-382-4357. |
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| Remember, if a deceased’s loved ones clearly understand that person’s wishes for moderately
priced final arrangements, they are unlikely to fall for the old funeral salesman’s pitch:
“Wouldn’t your loved one want the best?” |
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| Talk with your family and write down your preferences - save your loved ones thousands of
dollars and spare them from having to argue and guess about what you would have wanted. |
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From the publisher of “The It’s All Right Here Life & Affairs Organizer”
by Mark Gavagan & Patricia M. Kimble, LCSWR
www.AffairsOrganizer.com
> Anyone is welcome to share, copy, or reprint freely, so long as the source above is cited <
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