Plan Ahead

Most of us sit down to plan out our next vacation: The last vacation my family and I went to was Myrtle beach. Case in point: My wife and I discussed when we would like to go and started the process of finding out if that would also be a good time for our other family members and close friends, as this was going to be a reunion-type vacation. We love our jobs and wanted them to be waiting for us when we came back so we put in for our vacation days.

The next step was looking into places to stay and if they met our needs in location, spaciousness, cleanliness, amenities and cost. We also wanted it to be a good experience for the whole family, so we looked into different attractions, landmarks, restaurants etc. We talked about our transportation, clothing, food, spending money and how to fit all the luggage we needed. In the end it was a very fun vacation filled with experiences, conversations, laughter, some tears, and a togetherness that created memories never to be forgotten. I share this true story because if you think about the last time you were part of an important event, you or someone else took the time to plan it out. It’s the smart thing to do and anyone would agree that taking the time to plan makes the event much better than winging it. What would have happened if we didn’t talk about where to go, what we wanted to do, call family and friends, budget, plan the departure ad return date, ask work for the time off (just up and left), talk about where to stay (just hope there would be a place that worked when we showed up) and pack our essentials?

We are a smart society, and because of this we plan out much (if not most) of our lives because life just works out better that way. For example: Weddings, retirement, doctors appointments, hair appointments, dentist appointments, sports events, college funds, vacations, yard projects, shopping runs, meetings with friends. Just showing up unannounced and unprepared will usually end in a less than positive experience. Also, as a smart society we pre­plan for things that may never happen because it brings protection, safety and peace of mind. Things like: Homeowners Insurance – The good news here is that most people don’t have cause to make a claim on their homeowners insurance in any given year. In 2014, for example, only 5.3 percent of homeowners made claims on their policies, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Even though 94% of us will never use it we make sure we have it just in case. Car Insurance – motorists file insurance claims roughly once every 17.9 years according to a FOX business report in 2015. Life Insurance – Inside industry statistics peg term life payouts at less than 1 percent annually. That means that less than 1 percent of all term life insurance policies ever pay death benefit claims. It’s not that insurers are scamming people or refusing to pay, it’s that most people outlive their term policies.[1]

In closing, if we choose to pre­plan and purchase protection against things that might happen, wouldn’t it make us even more intelligent and caring to make a plan for something we know is going to happen? After all, 100% of all living persons will die. At Holy Hill Cemetery, we are experts in helping you and your loved ones avoid unnecessary pain and expense by making a few decisions today that will have to be made at some point in the future. To quote Abraham Lincoln, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

[1] Jerry Vanderzanden, CLU, ChFCPRO Co­Founder, Coastal Financial Partners Group, California Jul 1, 2018.