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Planning a (Cheap) Funeral - Low-Cost
Options to Honor the Dead
By S Matthews
Arranging the details of any funeral is incredibly
stressful, but when you have budgetary constrictions the
tension can really add up. From finding the right
funeral director and/or final place of rest to deciding
on cremation or embalming, it can all add to heartache
and create additional anxiety. Funerals are notoriously
expensive, and while it is possible to have a low-cost
one, you have to know how.
Other officials, however, were not impressed at the
lavish goodbye Mr Pingfa planned for his dear departed
mom. Following the funeral, the bereaved son realized
that he had lost not only his mother, but also his job.
We all want to give our loved ones the best send-off we
can. But when someone passes on, we don't all have the
cash required to give them a five-star luxury funeral.
In fact, many of us find that funding a funeral is close
to impossible, and worry that we won't be able to say
goodbye to our loved ones in the style in which they
were accustomed.
If you have the desire but not the dough, never fear.
You can still stage a wonderful memorial service while
keeping the costs way down. You might not have a
mink-lined mahogany coffin, limousine procession or
sit-down meal for hundreds, but you can still make your
loved one's final goodbye an affair to remember. All it
takes is some forward planning - and a little common
sense.
Keeping the Costs Down
Funeral costs can easily add up to more than $10,000 in
an instant - but it doesn't have to be that way. In
fact, it is possible to have a fairly traditional family
funeral for as low as $1,000, according to funeral
directors.
They key is to know what you want, and not to be lured
into any unnecessary expenditures. Embalming, for
example, is not necessary when the body is to be buried
within 48 hours - while it may sound overly macabre, in
the vast majority of cases refrigeration is a legally
acceptable alternative.
Here are other - hopefully less gruesome - ways to keep
the costs down:
- Shop around when it comes to funeral homes. It may
sound a bit tight-fisted and overly mean, but making a
few phone calls can save you hundreds of dollars. See
what is available - or ask a trusted friend to make the
calls for you - rather than taking the first offer that
comes along.
- Buy a cheap casket from outside the funeral home.
Funeral homes often charge a substantial mark-up when
they know they have a captive (and desperate) audience.
But there is no reason why a home should refuse to use
your chosen casket, or tack on an extra fee if you bring
one in from the outside. Also, keep in mind that sealed
caskets are more expensive than unsealed ones.
- Don't buy the whole package. Funeral homes often
allude to a whole host of services on offer, but few
people realize they can only purchase a few of them, and
leave the rest behind. Don't be falsely lured into
buying things you don't want.
- Hold a memorial service at home, at the park, in a
woodland area. There is no need to do everything at the
funeral home. It's cheaper and more personal to stage
your own memorial. Inviting friends and relatives back
to your place for a home-cooked meal will also save you
a lot more money than inviting them to a restaurant for
a five-course dinner with all the trimming. You can even
make it pot-luck, giving the whole affair more of a
cozy, family feel.
- Go for cremation rather than burial. Cremation is a
lot cheaper than embalming and you don't even have to
pay for an urn if you intend to scatter the ashes
somewhere special. Much cheaper than purchasing a burial
plot. All you really need in most states is a permit to
cremate, along with a death certificate and
transportation permit. You'll have to wait 48 hours
until after death and then the crematorium will do the
rest.
Look online for affordable funeral flowers. Don't just
buy a cheap bouquet from the supermarket, as it will
wilt and fade quickly. Instead, look for on-line
specialists that claim funeral flowers don't have to be
expensive to be beautiful. Mail-order bouquets are often
the best.
- Ask a musical family friend to play at the memorial
service, or play one of your loved one's favorite CDs.
There's no reason you should have to pay for a musical
extravaganza when something more personal is often nicer
- and always cheaper.
- Make your own funeral programs on your home computer.
Why pay for the use of a professional printer when
there's really no need? Several on-line sites offer free
or affordable templates.
Funeral Consumers Alliance
If you want a loved one to go out in style, not in debt,
you might consider contacting the Funeral Consumers
Alliance, or FCA (www.funerals.org). A non-profit
organization that likes to think of themselves as the
Consumer's Report of the funeral industry, they pride
themselves on being "dedicated to protecting a
consumer's right to choose a meaningful, dignified,
affordable funeral".
Among the goals the FCA has are:
- Increase public awareness about low-cost options to
using funeral homes
- Expose national abuses by the funeral industry
- Expand families choices and control about funeral
options
- Give advice and guidance to families
- Help everyone find a local FCA in their area
Arranging the details of any funeral is incredibly
stressful, but when you have budgetary constrictions the
tension can really add up. From finding the right
funeral director and/or final place of rest to deciding
on cremation or embalming, it can all add to heartache
and create additional anxiety. Funerals are notoriously
expensive, and while it is possible to have a low-cost
one, you have to know how.
Try to obtain as much information and advice as you can,
and don't be taken in by the first offer you get. Shop
around for the best deal, and don't be lured by false
promises about unnecessary items you just "have" to
purchase. By honoring a loved one with a small memorial
at home, with only close friends and family in
attendance, you can keep your integrity as well as your
bank account intact....
Sarah Matthews is a writer for Yodle, a business
directory and online advertising company. Find a Healer
at Yodle Local or more Health & Medicine articles at
Yodle Consumer Guide. |
