These days, the average funeral costs between $7,000 and $12,000 — which can be a devastating final expense if you don’t take the time to pre-plan and pre-pay. Fortunately, there are several ways to shave the overall cost of a funeral and burial down into something a little more manageable for you and your family.
Whether you’re planning a funeral for a loved one or yourself and aren’t sure how to plan around your budget, we’re here to help. Here are a few tips on how you can reduce funeral expenses.
Rethink the Funeral Venue
A large portion of the price of a funeral goes to covering the cost of the venue. Generally, hosting services in a funeral home will cost a couple of hundred dollars at the very least. Fortunately, funeral homes aren’t the only place where you can host a funeral.
If you or your loved one were particularly religious, you might want to consider looking into hosting the funeral at their place of worship. Generally, churches and temples are much cheaper to hire out than professional funeral homes. On top of that, clergy members will generally officiate the ceremony free of charge. That said, the actual cost of hosting a funeral at a temple or church varies from place to place, so you may want to consider shopping around.
Alternatively, you could also consider hosting the funeral at home. While hosting a funeral at home will put the responsibilities of hosting said funeral on the shoulders of either you or a loved one and limit the amount of space available, it can make the services seem much more private, peaceful, and comforting. On top of that, when you host a service in a funeral home, you have to adhere to that funeral home’s schedule. At home, you won’t have to worry about feeling rushed.
Avoid Traditionally Burial
There’s a reason traditional burial is falling out of fashion. From the cost of the casket and the plot to the environmental impacts of graves, more and more people are forgoing traditional burial for an alternative.
The most popular interment alternative by far is cremation. That said, it’s not the only other option out there. Natural burial, in which people forgo the traditional coffin for a shroud or compostable casket, is also gaining notoriety, mainly because it provides mourners with a physical location they can visit after the funeral.
You can also choose to donate your remains to science. Donating your body bypasses the cost of burial and cremation all together — and allows you to do a little more good in the world before you go.
No matter what you decide to do with your or your loved ones remains, you’ll need to have the right people to help guide you through the process. Visit lavistamemorialpark.com for more information about your available options.
Use the Internet
Finally, one of the easiest ways to save money on a funeral is by moving some elements of the service and associated costs online. For example, hosting an online memorial service instead of an in-person event could cut out the service entirely and only leave you and your family having to cover the cost of the burial or burial alternative.
One of the costs you can easily offset by going digital is the cost of an obituary. These days, a traditional printed obituary could run you upwards of $1,200. By creating a digital, online obituary, you’ll be able to share that obituary with friends and loved ones all over the globe much easier than you would a regular printed one.
How to Reduce Funeral Expenses
Now that you know a little more about reducing funeral expenses, you can begin planning with peace of mind, knowing your or your loved one’s final costs won’t break the bank.
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Read more: What Are the Most Common Types of Funerals?
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