New Beginnings, Clean Slate Begin This New School Year

As longtime Brazos Valley residents know, we’ve been taking the back streets the past two weeks now, and until after the first home game traffic settles back, you can count on our staying there. The annual ritual of Back-to-School brings yet another 1500 Aggies to the community, much to the delight of local business owners, who survive the summer to reach the thriving days of fall and summer.

Another gift of fall is the opportunity to start fresh and new with the new semester. You don’t have to wait until January for a new beginning. You can find a new notebook and a fresh new pen, so you have tools at your disposal. So, what can we do with this new slate? One of our possibilities is to conquer items that seem to linger far too long on our to-do lists. You know the ones you know have to be done “sometime” but there does not seem to be a pressing reason to do it. Yes. I’m referring to making plans for your final arrangements for “when that day comes.”

Most people think there’s always plenty of time to make those plans, maybe when you are in your 50s or 60s, maybe even your 70s, given that people seem to live longer every day, right? Compared to 30 years ago that’s true. But 30 years ago, most adults with families had already made their funeral decisions and had an active, funded funeral plan in place when they passed away. In the last 20 years especially have the chances to do more things presented more appealing ways to spend time than to attend to the typical things that “young marrieds” included in early decisions they would make as a new family.

One of the predictable solutions to high stress lives is to put off whatever you can until it actually needs to be dealt with. Whether it is finally getting your garage organized, or things in your attic disposed of, let’s face it, you’re not seeing it as a must-do because there are so many other things you think that need dealing with first. However, when you look at it through different perspectives, ours for example, we recognize that it is the best thing you can do because it goes hand-in-hand in thinking about life insurance and setting up college funds and retirement accounts for your family.

If we could just call it “future planning” rather than “final planning,” I think it would seem not only more pleasant but a routine procedure that you would want to resolve as part of your future success goals.

There are so many reasons to plan early, but saving money has to be at the top of the list. First of all, one cost that funeral homes don’t control is the burial locations you choose, unless they happen to own their own cemetery, and many do (e.g., we own Restever Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Bryan), you pay at the time you select a plot and the deed to the space is yours permanently. Over the past 15 years, a single cemetery plot in the City of College Station went from approximately $600 to $1450. Same size space. Note: the Aggie Field of Honor has separate (higher) pricing.

As you start to think about where you want to be buried, many of you have no idea what city or state you will ultimately be locating, particularly if you are at the beginning of your career. For those with family lands or numerous family plots that were purchased 50+ years ago, decisions are already made, and funding is in place.

Yet, you can only imagine how the appraisal of your home has skyrocketed in the past five years alone. Well, so have the costs for all goods and services for our daily purchases as well as for our future senior years. That’s where Preplans can be your friends. By meeting with a preplanning specialist, you review your options and make your choices in a nonstressful time and easy environment. Imagine the difference between that and the times of concern when an unexpected death in the family occurs. Decisions are not rushed; you have time to confer with other family members if that is desirable, and your stress level is much lower.

So, with this period of new beginnings, the advent of fall, give some thought to preplanning for your future plans. We offer regular complimentary “Lunch and Learn” and “Dinner and Learn” seminars to provide you with insight and information that will aid you as you consider your choices. We invite you to reach out to us at any time you have questions or an immediate need. We are here for you.

Cody D. Jones ‘02

Owner & Community Member