Many people arrange prepaid funerals for themselves, as this is a very cost-effective way to organise this type of process. Here are some tips to follow if you've decided to opt for a prepaid funeral.

Clarify exactly what the funeral home will or will not include in your prepaid funeral package

Funeral homes which offer prepaid funerals often provide them in the form of packages that vary in regards to their price and what services are included. It's important that you know precisely what the funeral home offers as part of the package that you can afford so that you can make arrangements for any extra funeral services or goods that are not included. Doing this will then ensure that your family won't have to make additional arrangements and incur other bills when your time comes.

For example, some basic prepaid funeral packages don't cover catering for the funeral reception. If this is the case with the package you've selected, then you might need to squirrel away a little extra in a savings account for this expense. This would ensure that, when your family are preparing for your funeral, they won't need to make lots of food for the reception themselves, just because they can't afford to pay a caterer.

Getting information about what exactly the funeral home includes in your package will also mean you won't choose a package that includes services you don't need and don't want to pay for. For example, the package you initially selected might have included a limousine to transport your family to the funeral home and the cemetery; however, if you know they would feel uncomfortable in this type of luxurious and flashy vehicle and would prefer to use their own cars, then you might want to pick a slightly cheaper package that doesn't include this.

Find out if you can upgrade or downgrade your package if your circumstances change

Before purchasing one of the funeral home's prepaid packages, you should also find out if you would be able to upgrade or downgrade the package if your circumstances change before you die. For example, if you choose the simplest and least expensive package, because that is all you can currently afford right now, but you inherit some money or get a better-paying job in a few years, you might like to upgrade your package so that your funeral is a bit nicer. You might, for example, want to get a package that provides a solid-wood casket instead of an MDF one.

Conversely, if you pay for a gold-standard prepaid funeral now but your financial situation changes for the worse in a few years, it could be helpful to be able to downgrade to a cheaper package and then get a refund for the difference in cost between the two packages.