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Funerals and cremations are a social taboo. We don’t talk about those. But let’s not forget we all have to incur that expense at some point in time. It’s important to be ready in advance so that when the time comes, you respond in a financially responsible way. Any life event, if we are not fully prepared for, would drain a lot of resources, including financial. In this article, we will talk about making cremation affordable.
A mourning family certainly deserves one less stress to be added to their lives.
Currently, a funeral in the United States costs between $7,000 to $10,000. This cost includes the services at the funeral home, burial and installation of a headstone. And keep in mind that prices may vary greatly, depending on different funeral homes and their location in the country.
The practice of cremation has grown and become more commonplace in the United States, and it is often presented as a more affordable alternative to traditional burial. Cremations seem like a cheaper alternative to having a funeral. However, what many families do not know is that they could be saving, even more, money by cutting down some of the costs of cremations. Therefore, today we are discussing some of the ways that you can save money on cremation costs.
Arrange the Cremation Directly Through the Crematory
When you arrange a cremation through a funeral home, you can expect to spend from $2,000 to $4,000. However, when you arrange the cremation directly through the crematory you can expect to spend from $1,500 to $3000. On average, you can save $500-$1000, which will definitely come in hand during your grieving stage.
Go With a Wooden Casket
Caskets can cost more than $35,000. However, if your loved one is being cremated and you do not plan to have a funeral, using a wooden casket is perfectly fine. It can cost as little as $500 and it does the job that it is meant to do just as good as one of the higher priced caskets.
Take Care of the Body at Home
If you are going to have the body cremated quickly from the time of death, it may be legal in your state to care for the body at home. You will be in charge of the body and can get into legal trouble if you don’t care for it properly.
However, by caring for the body at home, you can save yourself loads of money. You can do the viewing at your home and you don’t have to pay the funeral director any money for keeping the body for you.
Skip Embalming
When your loved one is being cremated, there is no law that states they have to be embalmed. Usually, you are charged approximately $500 for embalming the body, whereas you can pay a small fraction of that fee to simply have your loved one refrigerated until it is time for them to be cremated.
Closing Thoughts
Cremation does not have to cost nearly as much as a funeral director will make you think that it will cost. In fact, the urn is the only thing that you may want to spend big bucks on since that is what you will be storing your loved one in.
All of the extra services that funeral directors throw your way are just their way of making sure that they are profiting the maximum amount of money possible.
I am Hindu by religion, cremation is only means of disposing of the decaying body. Christianity allows for a funeral or a cremation. I found this interesting article on the net
“The practice of cremation has grown and become more commonplace in the United States, and it is often presented as a more affordable alternative to traditional burial. What is often overlooked is the Church’s teaching regarding the respect and honor due to the human body. The Order of Christian Funerals’ Appendix on Cremation states: “Although cremation is now permitted by the Church, it does not enjoy the same value as the burial of the body. The Church clearly prefers and urges that the body of the deceased be present for the funeral rites since the presence of the human body better expresses the values which the Church affirms in those rites”
So the choice is yours if you want to do a funeral or cremation.
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Here in our small city, cremation has been very often because of the expensive cost. Maybe in the future, lots of people will embrace cremation.
I must have lucked out. My dad was a no-nonsense, no-frills kind of man. He passed at 94 in 2008. He had already arranged with a local funeral home that he trusted to have cremation after death, and his ashes are stored next to mom’s (she passed a year before) at Fort Rosecrans in the crypt. Both mom and dad had military backgrounds, which means I’m entitled to be stored there also upon death.
Dad did not prepay. But the gentleman I worked with at the mortuary took one look at me and said, “You are obviously a no-frills kind of man, so I’m not going to try to upsell you on extras.”
I paid about $1000 total to have everything done, and done well and by the book.
My dad had a plain wooden casket (he was a former British soldier so his casket was draped with the Union Jack during the service). He was cremated but even if he hadn’t been we still would have gone with the wooden casket.
He wasn’t one for great displays of extravagance in life and would have been very upset had we done that for his funeral. A decent wake was much, much higher on his list of priorities.
I think too many people are duped into thinking they need to put on a show when a loved one passes.