The other thing I'm taking into account is that the higher it is, the harder it's going to be to double it. In other words, it's a whole lot easier to justify doubling it from $1500 to $3000 than it is to double it from $6000 to $12,000. A much bigger jump over 10 years or whatever years it is.
Inflation for Funeral Costs
- Thread starter Jack B
- Start date
The other thing I'm taking into account is that the higher it is, the harder it's going to be to double it. In other words, it's a whole lot easier to justify doubling it from $1500 to $3000 than it is to double it from $6000 to $12,000. A much bigger jump over 10 years or whatever years it is.
- 1,912
Not to be a stickler, but when considering when an amount will double, it doesnt matter what the initial amount is. $1,500 to $3,000 or $10,000 to $20,000 would take the same amount of time using the same inflation rate.
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- 8,707
True but the person can decide to cut back on extras in thier mind. So saying a bargain basement funeral now is x and in 15 years it willbe y and then saying that your planned 15k funeral will be 30k can get a yeah but my kids can cut back on the services.
- 16,877
I disagree. Numbers just get bigger through the years but it's all the same.
When a new Ford Mustang cost $2,000 and a decade later it costs $4,000 it was no different from going from $20,000 to $40,000. It's the same thing.
The part you can count on is that people who don't understand economics are always surprised by it.
- 1,912
Thats an objection that can simply be overcome in your presentation. Not necessarily the figures you mention, but the principle of how to make a sale.
I'm sure we are all building value and everything else. I use some variation of the statement below to bump up the value while showing that I'm sensitive to their budget as well.
"Mr and Ms X...I always recommend that you that we find a monthly payment that you are most comfortable with. We want to keep in mind that the cost of everything will go up in the future BUT this payment will never change."
I've found that something as simple as a 3 to 5 thousand dollar increase is the average when I do this.
"Mr and Ms X...I always recommend that you that we find a monthly payment that you are most comfortable with. We want to keep in mind that the cost of everything will go up in the future BUT this payment will never change."
I've found that something as simple as a 3 to 5 thousand dollar increase is the average when I do this.
Just so you know why I've said what I said, I think it's common sense. My reasoning may be off, but I don't think it is. Would have to really investigate it to see.
I'm sure that back in the day, the prices of funerals did actually double every 10 years. Too many old agents talked those numbers, so I'm thinking it was actually true at some point. All I'm saying is that it reached a point to where it did not double every 10 years. If it had kept on track for that the costs would be much more significant today.
Think of it this way: A $500 funeral doubled to $1000 in 10 years. That's $500 over 10 years or around $50 per year increase. Sounds fairly reasonable.
Now you take a funeral average of $10K today. In ten years (if doubled) it would be $20K. That's an average increase of $1000 per year. That's a far cry from the $50 per year increase in the previous example.
All I'm saying is that when the price gets to the point to where the increase just doesn't make sense then that increase isn't going to happen like it did back in the day. The market wouldn't justify it. At some point it just becomes ridiculous and it won't happen. Inflation may be a certain percentage, but it doesn't mean that everything that is sold increases by that percentage. That's all I'm trying to say.
- 1,912
Youre still focusing on the dollar increase, when in reality that has no bearing on when something will double.
Here is a calculator to help:
The Rule of 72 (with calculator) - Estimate Compound Interest
- 16,877
Going from $2,000 to $4,000 is exactly the same as going from $10,000 to $20,000. There is no difference and it feels exactly the same to the consumer.
Think about the price of cars in your lifetime. $2,000 bucks got you a nice new car when we were young. Every time they have doubled it has felt the same.
