Grief and Emotional Overspending

How preplanning your funeral can save your family money.

A nadie le gusta pensar en su propia muerte. But it is an inevitable occurrence that all families will have to deal with it at one point or another. When we die, we leave our friends and family filled with sadness and grief, as well as the enormous task of planning our funeral and final services—services that someone will have to pay for. But what if our family didn’t have to make those difficult and often costly decisions at all? What if we made those decisions for them, and even paid for the funeral and services, prior to our own death? We can, and it is no doubt one of the most considerate and loving gifts we can give to our family before we pass.

Think about this: We all believe that we know what our loved one would have wanted for their final arrangements. When it comes to making preparations for a funeral, we are making choices while grief-stricken, basing our decisions on emotions and not necessarily our loved one’s actual wishes.

For instance, imagine your family trying to plan your funeral. Your daughter might want the most expensive, elaborate casket and a lavish service in which the whole community is invited. She’s not really thinking about funeral costs, she simply wants to give you the best. Meanwhile, your spouse might be concerned about the costs but feels embarrassed to say anything for fear of appearing uncaring or cheap. When it’s time to pay for the funeral, conflict can arise among family members over who is actually going to pay the bill.

This is not how we want to leave our grieving family.

Truth be told, nobody knows best how much your family can afford for your funeral but you. There are many times when we plan ahead for costly life situations, such as saving for our children to go to college, or for a wedding or quinceañera. Why not also plan and prepay for our own funeral? This may sound odd and not what “Latinos” do, but it really is one of the most thoughtful gestures we can make for our family.

The pressure a family feels when planning a funeral after our death can lead to paying more than they can afford because they are stricken by grief. This is called emotional overspending. It occurs when families choose too costly of a casket, pay for too many flowers, or hire a ten-piece mariachi band that is beyond their budget because all they want to do is show their love and give the most dignified goodbye to their beloved.

By preplanning and paying for your funeral in advance, you can avoid emotional spending. You decide what to include and what isn’t important. You select the casket or urn, and where you’d like to be buried. And when you pay for all these things in advance, you make sure your family doesn’t have to. All they’ll have to do when the time comes is honor your life, grieve, and be together.

It’s not only a wise financial choice. Preplanning also means that we can let our family know exactly what we want, whether that be the exact kind of flowers we want, whether we want a novena and a rosary, and even the food and music we want to have.

The world-famous Mexican actress Maria Felix was so worried that her funeral wouldn’t reflect her own personal tastes that she left extremely detailed instructions for her final departure. It was one of the most beautiful funerals in Mexican history, and no one had to make any decisions. Her loved ones simply followed her instructions and were able to grieve with dignity.

The idea of preplanning can feel a little uncomfortable at first, but the actual process is much simpler than you may think. At Latina Funerals and Cremations, we will sit with you and answer any questions you have about your options and what to expect. We are very conscious of a family’s budget, and we work meticulously to ensure you can plan a beautiful, personalized, and dignified funeral regardless of your financial resources.

Another benefit of prepaying for your funeral is that you lock in today’s prices, which means your family won't have to worry about the higher costs that come with future inflation or difficult times. When the time comes, all your family will have to do is call us, and we will take care of everything according to your specific wishes that we’ve kept secure since the time of preplanning.

By planning your final arrangements in advance, you are providing a loving gift for your family and helping to ease their pain when the time comes. Loss will never be easy for your family, but they won’t have to worry about arranging the details of or paying for your funeral. It is one of the greatest gifts you can give them.

When you’re ready to discuss preplanning, or have any questions about how to get started, call us at 1-303-996-0701. The staff at Latina Funerals and Cremations will make sure you and your family are taken care of.