When someone passes away, it’s up to the family to decide how they’re going to put their loved one to rest. The price of today’s funerals can seem prohibitive to some families, with the average price of a funeral at around $8,000. Instead of using a life insurance policy, some families are turning to crowdfunding funeral expenses and going to websites like GoFundMe or Kickstarter to help pay for end-of-life expenses. Crowdfunding funeral costs have become such a popular trend that new websites like PlumFund and FuneralFund are popping up all the time. But what many families don’t realize is that relying on friends and family to foot the bill can lead to all sorts of stressful situations down the line. Find out why families should choose a low-cost life insurance policy instead of relying on crowdfunding funeral expenses.
Peace of Mind In the Face of a Tragedy
Losing a loved one is one of the most painful experiences in life. People are often overcome with grief and sorrow when they have to say goodbye to those they love. Setting up and managing a crowdfunding campaign takes a lot of effort. Users are encouraged to setup gifts for those that make a donation, such as homemade goods or tokens of appreciation. Advertising the campaign to loved ones on social media will also be an ongoing chore. Despite the added responsibility of running a crowdfunding campaign, families may feel uncomfortable putting their loved one’s life on display for a variety of reasons. The process of mourning is often extremely personal, and advertising a crowdfunding campaign can raise all sorts of unexpected emotions.
Families will also have to worry about whether or not they’re on track to meet their goal, all while trying to plan the funeral even without a finite budget in mind. With life insurance, families don’t have to worry about securing financing for their loved one’s funeral. They’ll have peace of mind knowing that everything is in place, without the stress of running a crowdfunding campaign.
Avoiding Hidden Fees
While it’s fun to think of crowdfunding as getting free money, every website comes with a hidden fee. Most sites keep about 3 to 10% of all the money collected. That could be as much as $700 that could be otherwise spent on planning the funeral in question. While many families think that they can’t afford a life insurance policy, there are some low-cost options that help families prepare for the future without throwing away hundreds of dollars of other people’s money.
Focusing On a Life Lived, Not Money Raised
Overall, feeling obligated to chip in for someone else’s funeral can catch some people off guard. Many people have their own expenses to worry about and don’t have expendable incomes to spend on other people’s funerals, even if it’s someone they love. Funerals should be a time of reflection and mourning, not a time to stress about money and dollars raised.