You thought living life was expensive? When you find out the cost of death, you’ll drop dead when you die! The good news is you won’t have to worry about the cost of death because you’ll be dead, but your loved ones will.

Personally, I’d rather plan my own death than have my loved ones angry that I left them, stuck with the cost of my death. I also want to make sure they handle my death the way I want and not the way they see fit. Sorting matters out before we die will ensure our wishes and remove the guesswork and burden over the costs you would otherwise leave behind.

Examples of the cost of death:

Coffin: $2-12,000

Burial Vaults: $2-14,000

Burial Plot: $400-10,000

Cremation: $2-4,000

Obituary Notice with Photo: $1,000-1,500 per publication

Flowers: $400-600

Memorial Planning & Misc.: $900-6,000

The costs can vary dramatically depending on simple versus extravagant and in what part of the country the burial takes place.

Although some costs are absolutely necessary, there are online services that take some of the financial burden away.  For example, HealGrief.org allows users to place a free online obituary.  The obituary becomes the funeral notice and can be sent to family and friends from around the globe. Their website offers many ways to memorialize your loved one with both traditional and non traditional ideas.

Things to consider before you die:

Who do you want notified of your death? Prepare a list, give it to a trustworthy person and update as frequently as necessary.

What do you want your funeral notice to say? Write it out yourself and make it as long as you want. Write about all the things you want people to remember. Don’t worry about how much your ad in the obit section of your daily news will cost. Now your family and friends from around the world can be notified with free online obituaries.

Additional considerations are within your control. Take control and design your own good-byes. This will help your loved ones left behind able to grieve and begin a healthy grief recovery sooner than later.