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9 Easy Tips for Lower Funeral Expenses
By Pamela Doove
Funeral expenses can be serious business. Even the most
basic funeral often costs well over $5,000, and if you
want the ideal environment in which to remember your
loved one, you could quite easily spend up to $20,000.
Funeral insurance can be a true lifesaver, but if your
loved one wasn't able to afford much funeral insurance
(or it's too late for that now), there are still some
easy ways to lower funeral expenses. We look at the top
nine here.
1. Choose cremation
Rent a casket for the funeral ceremony, and choose to
have your loved one's body cremated. This can mean up to
a 75% reduction in funeral costs, and is socially
responsible in that it preserves space in cemeteries.
2. Buy a casket online
Shopping around online offers you the option to buy just
about everything cheaper... including a casket. Remember
though, that you'll have to factor in delivery charges.
3. Choose a graveside or crematorium service
Hiring a hall or special venue for the pre-burial or
pre-cremation service is often a large component of
funeral expenses. Additionally, a graveside or
crematorium funeral can create a greater sense of
closure and finality.
4. Hold your own memorial service
Alternatively, instead of hiring a speaker to direct the
ceremony, you could hold the memorial service in your
own home. If the body is viewable, this viewing can also
occur in your own home, helping make the mourners more
comfortable as well as reducing funeral expenses.
5. Minimize death notice costs
Use the telephone and the deceased's little black book
to contact relevant people, and keep the death notice in
the paper to the minimum detail necessary for legal
purposes.
6. Print your own service sheets
If you've chosen to have a service, either in your home
or a hired place, you can still save money by printing
your own service sheets. Check with the celebrant as to
the order of proceedings, and you can either home-print
the service sheets or have a colour printing service do
it from your file.
7. Create your own floral tribute
Professionally arranged flowers represent a fair cost.
Asking people attending the funeral for flowers from
their own gardens can help them feel personally involved
as well as saving cash.
8. Arrange your own catering
Friends and loved ones are often looking out for ways to
help grieving families, and food is a popular option. If
somebody can coordinate catering for the funeral, you
can save a lot in costs.
9. For yourself - decide to donate your body
If you choose to donate your body to science or
research, you could help make a difference in the lives
of many other people. This decision will help lower your
own funeral expenses, but it is wise to clear it with
your loved ones first. They may find it traumatic not to
have a choice in what happens to your body... even more
so than having to pay funeral expenses. |
