Judge Judy Today

[Justin Bilyj]

We have a very cool little cemetery just across the fence in the back pasture. It has an awesome, very old iron fence around it. No gate though. The earliest grave is dated 1833.

I can give you a hell of a deal on a plot. The guy down the road has a sawmill and I'd even throw in a really nice cedar box. Plenty of wild flowers in the pasture and some real pretty rocks in the creek we would drag up and paint your name on.

I'll hook the hay wagon to the tractor, paint it black and drive through town a couple of times. (That would take about 5 minutes if we stop at the stop sign, three if we don't.) The guy across the road talks real good and I'll bet for a jug he would say really nice things.

I think that just about covers everything. How soon should we start digging?

See what you guys are missing by not living in the country.

Frank, it sounds like your living next to a pet cemetary lol, watch out for the sour ground

 

[Newby]

About 20 years ago, while running Final Expense Leads, I ran into a lady that "could not afford insurance" (imagine that).

Seems this old sister was paying off her husband's funeral at $250 per month. She wanted him "put away real nice" and the funeral bill had been $24,000. She thought she had a heck of a deal from the funeral home; she still owed only $19,000 and the funeral home graciously did not charge her interest---as long as her payments were made on time.

She lived in a shack, maybe worth $15,000 at the time.

I looked at the pictures on the wall, and saw her much younger glamour shots, she had been quite a looker. My thought was she was trying to make something up to her husband after he was gone.

That is a shame because I know funeral homes in your area that do funerals for as low as $6,000.

Sometimes those stories include a double mausoleum crypt for two cemetery spaces and an expensive monument. But no one other than the very affluent who chooses that should be paying $24,000 for a funeral.

The highest funerals that I see are about $20,000 and those are less than 5% and are usually selected by very affluent families.

No one who is just scraping by OR even have kids who are just scraping by should spend anywhere near that much.

 

[SportsNut]

I had tivo Judge Judy today, which I watch everyday.

Geesh... If I had that problem I wouldn't admit it in public (forum).

 

[Mark]

I have learned a lot of my wisdom from Judge Judy. I watch all of her shows.

 

[somarco]

I actually preferred Judge Wapner.

 

[AffordableLife]

14k, They were taken advantage of. I know from personal experience that it is hard to make sure you are not being scre wed. When my father past away he was in another state and the funeral home was holding him hostage trying to charge us bogus fees to get him to where he wanted to be buried.

 

[insuranceexec]

I actually preferred Judge Wapner.

I preferred peoples court as well.

 

[bobson]

That is a shame because I know funeral homes in your area that do funerals for as low as $6,000.

Sometimes those stories include a double mausoleum crypt for two cemetery spaces and an expensive monument. But no one other than the very affluent who chooses that should be paying $24,000 for a funeral.

The highest funerals that I see are about $20,000 and those are less than 5% and are usually selected by very affluent families.

No one who is just scraping by OR even have kids who are just scraping by should spend anywhere near that much.

The problem becomes the limited amount of time you have to do any planning once someone is already gone. And no I'm not suggesting funeral homes rip people off. I'm saying people don't have any idea what they are doing and bills can add up quickly. That's why a good life insurance agent is a must!

 

[Newby]

The problem becomes the limited amount of time you have to do any planning once someone is already gone. And no I'm not suggesting funeral homes rip people off. I'm saying people don't have any idea what they are doing and bills can add up quickly. That's why a good life insurance agent is a must!

Only about half the people plan funerals when there is a death or terminal illness. 50% of them plan them years in advance. That gives them plenty of time.

I think most agents would be amazed at how many people want expensive funerals. I'm classifying expensive as the $14,000 to $20,000 range.

I'm not saying the majority does by any means. If I had to guess I would say 30% want as cheap as they can get. 60% want a step above that. 10% want very high end funerals.

I know from experience that funeral directors spend more time talking people down from funerals they can't really afford then trying to sell them up.

 

[myinsurebiz]

When my wife died suddenly @ 30 y/o in 1997 - I had a $25k rider with NYL. Gail passed at 12:17am and as the family huddled to discuss the next steps, it was nice not having to worry about the money.

I told her Momma and the Children to not worry about it and get whatever they wanted for the service / burial.

It made it so much easier.

We spent the entire $25k on the mausoleum, funeral, viewing, flowers, casket, etc - all without regard to cost. I even got 2 crypts - so I have one as well.

My only problem with the situation is I wish I had a few less hundred thousand on me and more on her, so the kids could of had some extra cash. They were only 13 and 9 at the time.

I am able to relate with others in my sales process since I have first hand experience with dealing with sudden death and the shock that comes with it . . .

Tom