As a perfectly healthy individual, unless you work in the healthcare industry, you probably don't talk about death that much. While talking about your own death while you’re still healthy can erroneously lead friends and family members to wonder if you know something that they don’t, talking about your own death is not only healthy but will also be appreciated by those you leave behind. But why? In this piece, we’re going to look at a few reasons why it’s beneficial to plan for your own death while you’re perfectly healthy.

1. You’re in control.

Probably the most obvious reason to plan for your own death is in to ensure that your final wishes are known. Because even the idea of death makes many people feel uncomfortable, many die before talking about it. Those who have died without having discussed their final wishes with family and friends then put those loved ones in the unfortunate scenario of guessing what final wishes would have been. Without your plans or your permission, your loved ones will simply have to wonder what you would have wanted. Not only will this lack of planning leave them forever wondering what you would have wanted and if they made the right decision, but it also makes them vulnerable to reason #2.

2. You’ll potentially save yourself and loved ones a lot of money.

When you haven’t made it clear how you would like to be laid to rest, those in charge of arranging your burial may feel the need to give you a grand send off...which may be more expensive than you would have wanted. Naturally, your loved ones won’t want to potentially “cheap out” on your final wishes, leading them to be vulnerable to funeral home up-sales. When you plan for your own death while you’re alive and still healthy, this allows you to price shop for the best deals with the freedom to be as thrifty as you want to be. Shopping for caskets, burial plots and even planning your funeral while death is not imminent is also the best time to do so because of what is included in #3.

3. You’re the most physically capable of planning for your death now.

There are those who remain completely lucid and functional until the very end. For most of us, declining health will make the task of planning for death that much more arduous. When you plan for your own death while you’re in peak health, you’re most likely to consider every detail, go after every savings, and take this burden off of your loved ones — a factor to take into consideration in #4.

4. Your loved ones will not want to.

Would your loved ones make your final arrangements if you hadn’t already? Absolutely. Do they want to have to do this? Absolutely not. Planning for the death of a loved one usually means that the individual being planned for is incapable of doing the planning for themselves — meaning that they’re usually in the process of dying or have already died. While you’re in this state, your loved ones will be absolutely beside themselves. Losing a loved one can be a severely traumatizing event that is made worse by then having to make a series of extremely significant and expensive decisions. One of the most generous things you can do for your loved ones is to plan for your own death as extensively as you can. In doing this, you’re basically removing the stinging burden of having to make every decision for you.

In future articles, we will discuss what aspects of your death you should consider when planning for your own demise.