Why is it that when Morticia Addams discusses death, everyone loves it, but when the rest of us do it, we are “morbid” and “ruining Thanksgiving?”
The short answer is that death is a scary topic, so most people are not comfortable discussing it. Watching morbid TV shows like Six Feet Under or Dexter is one thing, but thinking about our own mortality is significantly harder. This is why, if you tell people that you want to buy your own casket, they usually cringe and politely change the subject.
If you have morbid questions, we have morbid answers. If you have questions about buying your own casket, here are all the answers that you cannot get in polite company.
Is It Morbid To Plan Your Own Funeral?
Yes, it certainly can be morbid to plan your own funeral. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it. It is better to be prepared for the inevitable than to leave your loved ones in a tough financial position. The best way to plan your own funeral is to begin by buying a casket yourself. This is easiest to do online because it is safer and more affordable.
If you want to buy your own casket, here are 5 things to consider:
- Don’t just think about pre-planning, do it! Many people know that they should start working out, start eating more veggies, and start writing a will or making other arrangements. Most people think about these things and put them off until it is too late. The best thing you can do for your future self is to take 5 minutes to start now. Starting is the hardest part, so once you take the plunge and browse the catalog, you can more easily go from there.
- It may be morbid, but it is also financially responsible. When you buy your own casket early, you lock in a price before inflation. Think about how much prices have changed in the last 20 years. At the rate we are going, prices and the cost of living is likely to continue to climb. If you pre-purchase a casket now, you can save a ton of money down the line. Both your future self and your loved ones will thank you.
- You can pick something you like. If you hate the color pink or think pine is hideous, you might want to buy your own casket. That is the place where you will spend eternity, so it should be something that you like. Admittedly, there is not a lot about your funeral that you can control. But you can control your final resting place. The best way to ensure that you get something you like is to just buy it yourself.
- There is no wrong way to pre-plan – but it is easiest to do it online. They say that the best workout is the one that you do. Similarly, the best type of pre-planning is the kind that you are able to do, and that works well for you. However, it is easier and more affordable for most people to pre-purchase a casket online. This is because online retailers charge less than funeral homes, so you can get the same casket for a fraction of the price.
- Be aware of potential scams when you make major life purchases. Sadly, there are a lot of scams out there that usually target people when they are making important purchases. Be aware of potential pre-planning scams by learning about how to pre-purchase a casket safely.
When you buy your own casket, any funeral home is required to accept it without adding any additional fees. This is part of the FTC Funeral Rule. Under this rule, you also have the right to receive accurate price lists from funeral homes, buy funeral goods from third party vendors, and only buy the funeral items that you want. This way, you can pre-purchase your own casket and your family won’t face any push back from the funeral home.
It Is Actually A Great Idea To Buy Your Own Casket
There are all the obvious benefits to buying your own casket: being prepared, locking in a price, saving money, and getting what you want. However, it can also be a fulfilling experience. Instead of pretending like death doesn’t exist, some people find it comforting to embrace their own mortality. While this may have people calling you “morbid” at parties, at least you will be emotionally prepared for the inevitable. A big part of this is facing death head-on by buying your own casket.
Once you hit that “checkout” button on the vessel that you will spend eternity in, all of life’s problems seem much smaller. Who cares if you tripped down the stairs at Macy’s? It won’t matter then that the hairdresser destroyed your hair with too much bleach. Nor does the little stuff like how green the lawn is, how bad the kids’ grades are, or how big your house is matter as much. Buying a casket can put life into perspective. It can be the permission you need to let go of the little stuff.
How To Buy (Or Build) Your Own Casket
In the last few years, it has become increasingly more popular to build your own casket. Yes, that is something that you can absolutely do. It is completely legal, though you may get some weird looks from the neighbors.
In fact, one designer created a bookshelf with the afterlife in mind. William Warren created the Shelves of Life bookshelf, which can be switched from a bookshelf to a coffin at the time of need.
However, if you are not much of a carpenter or don’t own many tools, you can easily buy a casket online. There are 2 ways to go about this.
First, Funeral Companion – the helpful online guide for all things funerals – discusses how many of the pre-planners of the world have built or bought a casket then stored it in their house. One woman who was interviewed used hers like storage and kept it in the garage. Other people have rented storage units and left sticky notes on the fridge that read “I have a casket in storage unit 3C. Please bury me in it.” The more adventurous ones might dare to take a nap in it occasionally or to set it up at the foot of their bed like an end table.
While keeping your casket at home is absolutely an option, you don’t have to. If you are pressed for space or don’t want to have to explain it at dinner parties, Overnight Caskets has another alternative.
When you buy a casket online at Overnight Caskets, we will store the casket for you in our warehouse. When the time comes, all your family has to do is call us. We will ship it directly to the home or to a funeral home of your choice.
How To Be Unique When You Pre-Plan
The first most important thing about pre-planning is that you do it. The second most important thing is that you are realistic about it. Everyone likes to joke about having their ashes forged into a sword, donating their skull to a Shakespeare theater company, or having a viking-style funeral. Sadly, viking funerals are illegal, for obvious reasons. It is also illegal in most states to have an open air funeral pyre. Currently, one of the only such options is located in Crestone, Colorado and this option is only available for current residents.
This does not mean that planning your own funeral can’t be fun. You have more options than just the typical, stuffy funeral. For example, if you build or buy your own casket, you can totally decorate it however you want. If you want flames on the sides, you are welcome to paint them on. You can also add any engraving you want, even if it is a pun – or your recipe for fudge that you told people that they could have “over my dead body.”
Another option is always casket-free burial. The idea of becoming “worm food” may be too much for some people, but for others it may be comforting. This option is called natural burial. Some cemeteries have a section reserved for casket-free burials. Certain nature reserves may also allow natural burial. There are a variety of vessels for natural burial, from a simple shroud to a pod that turns you into a tree.
If you want to be cremated, you have even more unique options. For those who choose cremation, it is still recommended to pre-purchase a cremation casket. This is a vessel that can be used during the viewing, then it is safe to put into the crematorium.
Once you have been cremated, you can have your ashes:
- Sent into space
- Turned into a vinyl record
- Turned into a diamond
- Made into fireworks
- Grown into a tree
Ready To Get Started? Here’s How To Buy Your Own Casket
It’s time to stop procrastinating. As they say, the only two things that are inevitable are death and taxes, so you should be prepared for death. In this case, that means buying your own casket. If you don’t think that you are ready right now, that’s okay! But you should definitely take 5 minutes to browse the catalog, so that you can start thinking about it.
If you are ready to pre-purchase your own casket. Here’s how it works:
- Browse the online catalog. You can filter by price, popularity, and best match. For more information, here are some helpful guides on funeral lingo, common mistakes & how to avoid them, frequently asked questions, and the 4 types of pre-planning.
- Take all the time you need. Feel free to bookmark things, share links with your more morbid friends, and compare prices.
- When you are ready to checkout, it is just like any other e-commerce website. Just click “Add To Cart” and put in your payment details.
- When it comes to shipping you have 2 options: have the casket sent to you if you want to have it around or use it as a storage chest; or you can let Overnight Caskets store it for you.
- The most important thing that you can do next is to tell your friends and family that you pre-purchased a casket. Timing is very important, so that you don’t ruin Thanksgiving. Even if everyone thinks you are weird and morbid, it is still important that they know.
- When the time comes, someone will need to contact Overnight Caskets to have the casket shipped out. Unless, of course, you wanted to keep your casket around. In that case, someone would need to go dig it out of the garage.
- The final step: You are in your casket and everyone stands around telling stories about you. They might say “they talked about death too much” or “they had a really morbid sense of humor.” But they may also say “I’m so glad they bought their own casket. That made the arrangements much easier.”
Have Morbid Questions? We Have Morbid Answers
If you have any questions about the very morbid process of buying your own casket, contact Overnight Caskets. We are happy to answer all the questions that you can’t normally ask in polite society. For more information, check out our other blog posts about the pre-planning process.
How To Safely Buy a Casket Online