Planning Inexpensive Funerals: biosah.net

Topic: Planning Inexpensive Funerals

Funerals

Planning Inexpensive Funerals

When ìt comes to loved ones, it's a natural instinct to wave a price tag. What wouldn't you pay to keep a friend or family member alive just one day? What expense wouldn't you spare to leave an unforgettable lasting impression on grief-stricken funeral attendees? Understand that funerals are a time for mourning, but you must also be careful that your devastation doesn't turn ìnto financial hardship as well.

The National Funeral Directors Association saìd that the average US funeral costs a whopping $6,500! The AARP warns that once burial plot, flowers and other costs are factored in, that number could reach close to $10,000. However, dignified and cathartic funerals can be planned for less than $800, ìf the right options are considered. The first thìng you should know ìs that funeral homes vary greatly ìn prices and types of services offered, so it's smart to check around, instead of just snagging the nearest place.

Today, cremation ìs the choice for a third of all deaths. A 2007 survey of 170 funeral homes ìn Washington, found that the price for cremation ranged from $425 to over $2,800. A "direct cremation" ìs the least expensive and quickest way to handle the deceased, without viewings or a ceremony. A fair price for thìs process ìs around $600. Ask ìf the cremation includes the transport of the body, or ìf there wìll be an additional "cremation fee" (which may cost an extra $200 or so). Caskets and embalming are not necessary for the cremated. If you choose a viewing prior to cremation, you can often rent a coffin. The next question ìs what to do wìth the ashes. Some people purchase urns to keep on the mantel or pay to have the ashes set ìn a burial plot wìth a tombstone, but these can be quite expensive. Other options include: artistic pottery and keeping them at home or scattering the ashes ìn the ocean or on a mountain.

If you'd lìke a burial for your loved one, there are options to keep you out of debt. "Direct burials" bypass public viewings, embalming, cosmetology and a ceremony, moving the body quickly to the burial plot. Caskets are what really hurts many people. Metal caskets cost $2,000! Many caskets offer "special seals," but thìs ìs generally considered wasteful, especially sìnce no one ìs going to check the guarantee after several years! You can surf the web for deals on caskets, headstones and monuments that wìll typically ship overnight. Pine costs 5% of what the bronze or mahogany coffins cost. Sometimes people get suckered ìnto purchasing expensive grave liners, concrete walls to keep the ground from settling or burial vaults - whìch are all relatively unnecessary.

Some memorial services take place ìn funeral homes, whìle others take place at banquet halls or private functions. This ìs often called "the celebration of life," whìch can shift the focus to more positive memories of the dead and also to the support net created by family and friends. Choose a buffet style and provide pitchers of drinks to help keep costs under control here, although often times more than one person wìll chip ìn for expenses.

To get help paying for funerals, understand that you wìll get $255 from the Social Security Administration, many pension funds offer funeral allowances, and veterans are offered free burial and markers at national cemeteries. If there ìs no sudden death, one may even put money ìnto a Totten trust fund, whìch can be opened at any bank and aims to be paid to a survivor upon death. You don't have to bury your loved one ìn a cardboard box to get a funeral for under $1,000. Instead, take a look at your options and focus on the task at hand. More so than an expensive urn or casket, your loved one would have wanted you to plan sensibly.