The Death-o-Meter
Although for some the subject of death is something they would rather steer clear of, for others it is a fascinating topic.
Indeed, people's obsessions with how long they have left to live has spawned a plethora of internet-based novelty Death Clocks or Death-o-Meters which predict the 'exact date' of your demise. Users are invited to enter their date of birth, sex and other information such as whether they smoke and drink, how much exercise they participate in and what kind of diet they have. Once the information has been entered the Death Clock will then provide the user with a predicted time of death and a countdown of how long they have left.
Although the clock is designed to amuse those who use it, it also holds a serious message - that although death comes to us all there are measures that can be taken to improve our health and thus increase our chances of spending more time with our loved ones. But whether our Death Clock predicts we have 50 years or five years left it is important that preparations, and particularly financial arrangements, are in place beforehand.
The death of a family member or friend is one of the most stressful events of a person's life and if the deceased has not ensured that all their paperwork is in place, the difficulties faced by the bereaved can increase ten-fold. As well as making sure your Will is up to date, it is also recommended that you have left money aside to pay for a funeral and told your loved ones what type of service you would prefer.
