Are you married with kids? If so, plan ahead; complete your power of attorney and will and testament documents. This will reduce stress for your loved ones. Furthermore, planning a funeral is no fun and if left to a grieving spouse, it has inherent risk for the deceased to be misrepresented during this, their end-of-life celebration. A few years ago, a family acquaintance passed away and I was surprised to learn that a funeral costs $30K (in 2020 CAD). That’s an insane sum of money to put someone in the ground. I personally would much rather those monies go to my beloved offspring towards a downpayment on a house or towards a PhD. 

Upon seeing the stress my deceased acquaintance’s spouse faced as they planned the funeral service, I proceeded to plan my own end-of-life celebration. I made a guest list, invitations, a video eulogy, and prepared a video conference funeral service that I bundled into easy-to-follow instructions, an end-of-life package that my wonderful wife can easily execute. I also donated my body to the state. All of this planning ensures that I get what I want out of an end-of-life celebration, while lightening the load for my beloved spouse.