The costs of funerals and burials stake up fast. If you plan on being buried in a cemetery, it’s never too soon to start planning for your future by buying a headstone in advance. By securing a plot and gravestone ahead of time, you can save your family the stress and responsibility of choosing your final resting place.
Save Money
Because of inflation and the high demand for luxury materials like granite and marble, gravestones will never be cheaper than they are right now. By investing in one now, even if you plan on leaving the stone blank for decades, you avoid becoming a victim of inflation.
Spread Out the Costs
The costs of a funeral and burial aren’t cheap, which is why many families have turned to cremation even when they might’ve wanted a traditional burial. You can buy a flat headstone for around a thousand dollars. Depending on the cemetery, you may also have to pay for any of these additional expenses:
- Plot: $800 to $3,000
- Opening and closing the plot: $500 to $1000
- Burial vaults: $1000 to $2000
- Grave liner: $500 to $600
- Casket: $900 to $10000
By planning for these costs ahead of time, you can alleviate the stress from your family so they won’t have to make multiple lumpsum payments during the grieving process. They can invest in more personal memorials to add to your final resting place, such as a ceramic portrait on the headstone. Then, they can see your face every time they visit you.
Luxury of Time
Making extremely stressful and significant financial decisions while grieving is highly difficult. So, your loved ones may not make the financial or personal chooses when planning your burial. By buying a headstone in advance, you give yourself the luxury of time. You can shop around to different gravestone retailers, looking for the best deal and location you can find. You can monitor the market patiently waiting for the perfect stone for you, which is a luxury your heirs won’t have. After selecting your stone, consider personalizing it by adding one of the profound ceramic headstone pictures from Memorial Pictures LLC.