Shave Money Off Your Very Last Bill - Saving On Funeral Expenses.

Photo by Chris Kovacs

No one wants to talk about it but it is a fact of life - we are all gonna go someday - and there is no stopping that trip. And it is not going to be a cheap one, either! But before you head out, the thing you want to do is to make it painless for those who have to do the work once you are gone, and that’s where an article in the LA Times comes in. Funerals can be incredibly expensive (sometimes upwards of $10,000), but here are several pointers here to help people save some money on their funeral expenses before they go on their merry way:

1. Comparison Shop. You can call funeral homes in your area and ask for prices - yep, just like shopping. It might seem kinda creepy, but you want to save money, right? If you visit the homes in person, they can give you a price list to take home.

2. Consider third-party sellers. Did you know you could buy caskets and urns from outside providers? Most people just pay the funeral home for whatever they have, but you don’t have to - you could save a ton by buying from someone else. Maybe you can even get a discount for buying in advance.

3. Get it in writing. Before you buy anything, make sure everything is in writing. Make sure you know the rules for the cemetery and the funeral home so you don’t buy products or services that they cannot use after you are gone.

4. Set up a payable-on-death bank account. Also known as a Totten trust, this account is paid to your designated beneficiary upon your death to help cover funeral expenses. It is outside of probate so it can be paid out immediately.

The items on this list go hand in hand with my post the other day about the legal documents everyone should have, so you might want to check that one out as well. When it’s your time, you might as well go out with class and prepare everything in advance so you don’t bother anyone that one last time!

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