Who would ever give a casket as a gift?  Or who would buy a raffle ticket with a golden casket as grand prize?Considering that a casket is “a container for a body that will be buried” (Chevalier, 2006), no one would most likely be attracted to the idea of purchasing their caskets while they’re still alive and strong. In fact, it is an insult for most people to get a casket for a gift.  Definitely, the idea of giving away a casket as a grand prize for raffle is sure to drive ticket buyers away.

Almost all people – old and young, smart and dumb – say that they prepare for their future so they work harder and harder each day.  However, when you ask them how they prepare for their future, they usually say they work to buy a big house, a luxury car, or an expensive vacation house near the best beaches in the country.What they don’t realize is that the real future that awaits all people is death.  All people die.  Because of this inevitable reality, there must be nothing wrong with literally preparing for death now.  Now is the time to buy a casket.

First of all, buying a casket now means cutting on burial costs tomorrow.  According to Craig Lake, the area prearrangement manager for Dignity Memorial, preplanning a funeral actually makes a person save “between $15,000 and $30,000” if done 20 or 30 years before one’s death (Souder, 2006, p. 38).Second, purchasing a casket now is actually an act that a person does for his or her family, not necessarily for himself.  For instance, 85-year-old Joseph H. Schoepe of California bought himself and his 71-year-old wife discount caskets because he didn’t want his and her survivors to “be pressured into buying expensive coffins” when they die (Fairclough, 1997).

These days, Lake observed that people who have seen the benefit of preplanned funeral to the relatives of those who died usually would want their own funerals planned in order to avoid the hassles of making arrangements while they’re grieving for their loved ones’ death (Souder, 2009, p. 38). It is the thought of not giving worries to the relatives that motivate some people to purchase their own casket.Third, preparing a casket now for one’s death tomorrow is the best way to accept the fact that dying is an inevitable part of life.

  Death is “a natural part of life span” (Yin Hsu, O’Connor & Lee, 2009). As such, people need to prepare for their death the way they prepare for their birthdays and weddings.In fact, Goodlander (2008) believes that it is dying that makes one’s life worth living.  For him, “to deny death is to deny a vital, integral part of living” (p. 34).  This integral part, for Goodlander is the “opportunity to live fully and completely and sensuously” (p.

34).Buying a casket now is to prepare not just oneself, but also one’s relatives of the reality that will come along.It may be a morbid idea to shop for the perfect casket for oneself or for a loved one but it’s now one good investment for a future that will surely come.  After all, there is nothing wrong with embracing the end of life the way people cherish every day of their lives.

ReferencesChevalier, J. (2006). State casket sales restrictions: A pointless undertaking? (n.d.

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edu/faculty/pdf/ScoFairclough, G. (1997, February 19). Casket stores offer bargains to die for. Wall Street    Journal, B.

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(2008). All About Dying. Cruising World, 34(10), 34.  Retrieved March             13, 2009 from             http://proquest.

umi.com/pqdweb?did=1574288711&Fmt=7&clientId=57020&RQ            T=309&VName=PQDHsu, C., O'Connor, M., ; Lee, S. (2009). Understandings of Death and Dying for People         of Chinese Origin.

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(2009). Exploring Trends in the Funeral Industry. Business People, 21(12), 38.          Retrieved March 13, 2009 from             http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1634800531;Fmt=7;clientId=57020;RQ    T=309;VName=PQD