Planning Your Own Funeral in the UK

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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I know that many people don't want to think about death and funerals. For them, these are just sad and morbid times that only need to be considered as a necessity. However, for me, as a Christian, I'm not scared to think about dying and I know that the best is still to come.

Of course, all funeral planning will involve some sad moments as it means you have lost someone or that you're thinking ahead to a time when you may leave loved ones behind. It's always those left behind that death is the most devastating for. With that in mind, I want to be able to plan my own funeral and take away any stress from my husband or children when it becomes time for my funeral to be planned.

I don't want my funeral to be another burden to add to the list, and I don't want them to have to think they have to create something big and fancy to say goodbye to me, so I hope that in laying out some plans of my wishes, they will feel free from the obligations that can come with this life event. 

I'll share my tips for the things you need to think about and consider when leaving instructions for your own funeral. 

Think about what is important to you

There are so many things to consider, like do you want a burial or a cremation? Is there a particular resting place where you'd like to be laid to rest? Do you want a large funeral and wake? Or just close family and something more personal? Should it be a religious ceremony or not? Is there particular music to include? Do you want to make a video reel to be shown? Should people wear a particular colour, or donate to a charity in memory of you? The list goes on and on. 

Take some time to have a really good think about what is important to you and also what is affordable to you. You might also want to speak to those you love to get their input so that whatever is planned can be a truly collaborative effort and be as heartwarming as a funeral can be.

For some people, it isn't important to have lots of people or a big party afterwards and they would prefer a simple option, like direct cremation and this is OK, every person is different and should be able to choose what suits them and their loved ones.

How formal will you make your plans?

You can, of course, just put all your wishes into a word document and save them for the future, or you may wish to go one step further and actually meet with a funeral director and firm your plans up for when they are needed. Many funeral arrangers such as Heart of England Funeral Care allow you to specify in a plan what arrangements you'd like and then you can pre-pay and however much prices rise before your funeral, you won't be charged any extra. This is such a good idea, as funeral costs have almost doubled in the last decade and are set to continue rising. There are all sorts of payment plans so you can spread the cost over a number of months or years, so talk to your funeral planner to find out what is right for your circumstances. 

5 Top Tips for Securing Affordable Life Insurance for Mums in 2021

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It’s natural for us mums to worry about our family’s future and COVID-19 has not helped matters. The pandemic has highlighted the need to have the right financial protection in place to ensure your family are taken care of. As a mum, you’ll want to know that your children will be protected in the event of a worst-case scenario.

Life insurance is essential in securing the financial future of your family and ensuring they don’t struggle financially should you pass away. Life insurance works by providing a payout to your loved ones should you pass away during the term of your policy.

Your loved ones can then use this payout to help cover any financial commitments. These are often things such as:

• Mortgage payments
• Bills and utilities
• Outstanding debts
• Childcare costs
• Funeral costs
• Leaving an inheritance

There are a number of policy types available to suit every family’s need. From term based covered (cover for a specified period of time) to whole of life cover (cover for the rest of your life), to family income benefit (monthly income payments).

Whether you’re a young mum, single mum, stay at home mum or working mum, life insurance is essential for protecting your family should the worst happen.

Below are 5 top tips for securing affordable life insurance cover for mums from Hampshire-based award-winning life insurance broker, Reassured -

1. Lead a healthy lifestyle

It can be hard juggling motherhood while taking the time for yourself to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, but doing so could help you to secure a more affordable life insurance premium. 

The price you pay for your life insurance premium will be calculated according to the level of risk you pose to the insurer – the riskier they deem you to be, the more you’ll pay. 

At the point of application, you’ll need to provide information on your health and wellbeing, such as:

• Your lifestyle
• Your medical history
• Your weight
• Your BMI
• Your smoking status

This information will help to paint the picture of your current health (and, therefore, the risk you pose to the insurer). Ill health, being overweight, having a high BMI and being a smoker are all factors that can lead to premiums being inflated.

This doesn’t mean you’ll need to swap quality time with your children to hit up the gym every day but simple steps such as quitting smoking, eating a balanced diet and keeping active could all work in your favour to lead a healthier lifestyle and secure a more favourable premium. 

Dreams for the Future, when I win the Lottery Jackpot

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

{This is a collaborative post}

I have to admit it's been quite some years since I have actually played the lottery, but when it first launched here in the UK, I did play every week and I had a set of numbers that I always used. I won the odd £10 by matching three numbers and I think I even had four numbers once or twice but never more than that sadly. However, just because I don't play doesn't stop me dreaming of what I'd do with a really big win.

I don't think I'm alone there and I know I've played the 'what I'd do if I had a million pounds' game with friends before. I actually really enjoy spending an hour dreaming about what the future might hold if I have a whole load of money in my bank account. So here are the things I'd like to do if I win the lottery jackpot one day in the future.

Help Others

The first thing I know I want to do is help others. I know that sounds a bit cliche but as a Christian, it is important to me to serve and help others where I can. I'm not a saint, so it will need to be a project or business where I enjoy serving and working, rather than just selflessly giving, but it needs to be worthwhile. I've always had this dream that my husband and I would run a Christian conference centre somewhere in the UK, and he is sort of doing that now.

So I think my dream would now be slightly different. Still working with my husband and offering hospitality, but being more local community based. I could see myself investing in and managing a community centre that is really committed to helping its local people. I'd have a pastor and team on board to run the church side of things, but my husband and I could lead the outreach. We'd have a community cafe where locals can come for food, be that paid or gifted, people to chat and pray with them, a food bank, debt and job counselling, activities for the kids and youth and so much more.

I feel excited just thinking about this. Money is often the thing that holds these kinds of projects back and if I had my lottery win, there would be no need for it to feel limited by its resources. My background is in HR and training, so I'd really enjoy doing the practical parts of coaching people to help them get back into employment and leading training courses for parenting, assertiveness, time management. You name it, I want to give it a go!

Who Knows what Tomorrow Holds - Planning for the Future

Photo by Irina Murza on Unsplash

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Once you become a parent your whole perspective changes, or certainly mine did. Every new thing looks as if it holds danger and you worry constantly for your children. But worry isn't productive, so it is important to actually take some firm steps to ensure that your children are well looked after, safe, happy and financially secure if the worst should happen to you and your partner.

Here are a few ideas to get you started -

1.  Make sure you have a Will in place
2018 research from Which showed that 54% of adults in the UK do not have a will, this is an astounding figure. I daren't imagine what would happen if my husband and I both died and our estate had to be sorted out and there was no will. I want the kids and their guardians to easily have money available to them to start sorting out their plans and living arrangements for the future.

We chose to make mirror wills as our wishes were the same and it feels a cost-effective way of doing things. Other couples prefer to make separate wills and allow provision for the things they care most about. For us, it was the kids we cared most about and thus mirror wills worked perfectly. For the sake of drawing up a document that took us under an hour and cost less than £150, it would be crazy to die intestate and leave our children and their guardians with those kinds of problems.

Also, importantly, don't forget to tell your next of kin and executor where your will is kept!

Could They be the Coolest Grandparents Ever?

I often think about how lucky my kids are. They have wonderful Grandparents and enjoy spending time with them. On the one hand I wish I'd had my children when I was younger and then my parents would have been younger too and that would have given them a lot more time before health complications got in the way of some of the things they want to do.

However what will be, will be and here we are. Yes, both of my parents have health ailments that now limit some of the activities they can be involved in but does that stop them having fun? Not at all.

For the last four years the children and I have headed off to Poole in Dorset with them for a fun week away whilst my husband is busy at work and when I ask the kids what their favourite type of holiday is, so we know what to book next year, they always say the one with my parents. Why? Well lets look at some of the qualities of my parents and get an idea of why my kids love them so much -

You Can’t Put a Price on Peace of Mind

The most important people in my life

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It is funny how your outlook on life changes as you grow older and as your family dynamic alters. I am now the mother of three primary school-aged children and I have a very limited income as I no longer work out of the home.  I do earn a little through my writing and this blog but the most important thing for me right now is being there for my family and nurturing my relationship with God.

Whilst it is fabulous to have more time for my closest relationships and to be able to volunteer my services to charities that can utilise me, it does sometimes worry me that I do not have an income and thus the security net I used to have. Thankfully our family are in a bit of a unique situation as my husband gets a house as part of his salary package and we now live in the one of the most beautiful places in England, but of course, that means the actual monetary part of the salary is far more limited than ever before in our adult lives and monthly saving is but a dream currently.

What would happen if one of us were to fall critically ill, or even worse pass away? Would we be able to maintain our wonderful life? Probably not, if it was me that was ill my husband would have to take care of the children or arrange for them to be looked after and give them lifts to their school five miles away. We might be able to make it all work because of the amazing community we live within but boy would it be a struggle and I can’t imagine how stressed my husband would end up trying to maintain a senior level job and care for three children and a sick wife.