In DH's family case- it was not the way to go! From what I understand (this is an ongoing issue for over a year now!) DH's grandma prepaid for her funeral years ago- the people she paid refused to "refund" or "give" what she asked for- so basically they scammed DH's grandma out of a lot of money and left the family high and dry when it came time to her funeral (although the company did tell his family what she wanted for the funeral and etc.- they just did not pay for it- I believe it is now a legal issue).

SO if you find a reputable company it can be a blessing (since they are so hard to plan!).

I am not too keen on them, but we have a very different situation than most, too. We are friends with the funeral director where my parents will be taken care of. While they don't have a pre-burial thing going on, they have talked to him and I think it will be easy when the time comes to take care of it all. Since it is small town Tennessee, too, the costs are not going to be horrible. This is what we did with my grandmother and it was fine.

I think if you take that money and invest it now (assuming they will not die tomorrow and are in good health) they could make much, much more than the savings on a future burial, too. JMO

I guess I wasn't looking at it as a way to invest or save money, more of a way to ease the pain of your family in trying to figure things out--your situation is different, though.

__________________
Wendy~Self-proclaimed hippie momma to Bob and Jamie

You know I think its a good idea. Honestly I hope my parents go that route I know that they did the pre paid or at least most of it was paid before my grandmothers Deaths. They also have my uncle (mentally disabled) Pre Paid as well. The big plus is everyone is at the same place. Going to the cemetary in my home town means I can visit the sites for both sets of grandparents and a great aunt and Uncle. What is nice though is that many of the details are chosen for you. My Dhs Dad went unexpectantly there was a lot of head ache over who payed what.

__________________
Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

Yes this is how they are seeing it too .. not so much as a financial decision .. more of a way to ease the pain when the time comes .. they wanted to be sure it wasn't a waste of money.

__________________

I think it is a great ideal, that way the person dying can have his/her funeral "their way" and it also takes a lot of guessing and burden off of the family.

When my dad died in 93, they told him that he had about 2 weeks to live. So the next day daddy and I planned his funeral. He picked out what suit he wanted, want songs he wanted sung, pallbeares. It was nice knowing that all of his wishes were carried out just like he wanted.

8 months later my best friend also died of lung cancer. She asked me to go with her and pick out her coffin, dress and other stuff. She even went to the Florist and pick out the flowers she wanted on her coffin.

Not everybody wants to face the fact that someday they will need these services, but we all know that it is going to happen sooner or later. Why wait and burden your family with the details.

I think it's a wonderful thing to do. The last thing family members want to deal with is funeral arrangements during the time they are needed.
If it's with a good place then I would go for it.

I think its a very good idea because they are paying for the prices just for this year. My father who recently passed away did his back in 1989 and believe me between 1989 and 2007 he probably saved almost $20,000 also saved my mother headaches about getting things done. The lady at the funeral home said that prices for pre plan funerals (lot, casket,etc..) are going up every year I think she said by $4,000. So if you are planning one now you have to do it now so that you lock the prices in today's market.

__________________

That is very inexpensive. We paid ~$6,000 for my mom's funeral and we didn't have to buy plot, casket, or headstone (already had that). I agree though, that if they are selecting everything for you, that will be the real savings. It is HARD to make those kind of decisions! I was at the funeral home doing all that when my mom died. She had already typed up the program for her funeral at least.

__________________
It's not what you make; it's what you spend.

There was just a series of articles in our local newspaper about pre-paid funeral costs. From what I gathered, the funeral home invests your money and the increase is supposed to cover the difference in what the cost is really and what the person has already paid. One woman's family had done this back in 86 and then the funeral home changed hands last year and the new funeral home is saying she doesn't have enough money now. Just be careful and make sure that it is a reputable funeral home.