How Much Is A Funeral? It's Not As Cheap As You Think
- Written by Victor Vega
- Last updated on May 12, 2021
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- Things You Need To Know About The Average Cost Of A Funeral
- What Do Funeral Costs Cover? 7 Items You Need To Remember
- What Is The Average Costs Of A Burial Plot? And Why Should You Care?
- How To Make Low Cost Funeral Homes Work For You
- How To Save Money With A Direct Burial
- The Modern Rules For Flowers That Symbolize Death
- A Quick Guide To The Average Cost Of Cremation
In the end how much should be spent on celebrating our life? One thing I found to be interesting is that a lot of us have questions about what the actual costs are for a funeral or a cremation .
What if we want to budget the death benefit so that most of it goes to our beneficiaries rather than a one time use for final expenses? This article will reveal what most people spend and help you decide on what’s the best option for you.
Things You Need To Know About The Average Cost Of A Funeral
Nationwide, the average funeral cost is $9,000. That will basically cover the everything on the list in the following section.
There is someone in your life that will be more than willing to take up the challenge of planning your funeral for you. This is the person that will reach out to everyone and let them know you have passed on.
Then, comes the hard part – collecting money from everyone.
What if there are social distancing rules like during the Covid-19 pandemic. . No matter what, life insurance death benefits are one of those things that end up being a great idea in hindsight.
It becomes a race to get you in the ground because decomposition is creating a sort of deadline.Final expense burial life insurance makes sure the check is in this person’s hands within 48 hours!
A funeral home can be assigned when you sign up for your policy. Everything can be planned by you so that your friends and family can be inspired by you’re being proactive for their benefit.
What Do Funeral Costs Cover? 7 Items You Need To Remember
The following list of tasks tends to be the breakdown where the money is spent, and a basic idea of what is being done during the funeral process:
- Transporting remains to the funeral home
- Embalming and other preparation
- The casket
- The headstone
- The flowers
- The viewing
- The burial
Just looking at this list can make it feel pretty pricey before spending a dime on any of this! In thinking about planning for a birthday party, wedding, graduation, etc…it is so much fun!
Planning for a funeral doesn’t have to be so painful and dreadful. To say the least, it is an opportunity to show appreciation through closure.
Don’t forget, this is is a ceremony of glorious remembrance.
What Is The Average Costs Of A Burial Plot? And Why Should You Care?
Cemeteries that are rural are cheaper than cemeteries that are urban. Depending on which cemetery you use, the range for a single burial plot tends range between $200-$2000
There usually different types of plots to choose from:
- Single plot – this is the most common and the cheapest. You guessed it – it is for one person.
- Side by side – It is the right to reserve space for two companions to be buried next to each other. .
- Double plot – this is deeper dig for one space and one container but will bury two people.
- Family plot- This is a space reserved for more than two individuals .
How To Make Low Cost Funeral Homes Work For You
The Funeral Rule is a rule that Federal Trade Commission is in charge of enforcing.
This rule protects us by forcing funeral homes to be transparent about everything they charge for and how much the costs are. So the key in finding low cost funeral homes to is to shop around and ask for a “general price list” on their services that they provide.
This will help you narrow down to the lowest cost funeral home that you can find.
How To Save Money With A Direct Burial
This is perfect for getting a simple and inexpensive burial. The average cost is in the range of $1200-$1600.
There will not be any embalming during the direct burial process. There will not be a memorial or viewing service.
So what is included?
- Simple wooden Casket
- Simple headstone
- Plot of land
- The burial
You can always hold a memorial at your home or anywhere that you can arrange for everyone to get together.
The Modern Rules For Flowers That Symbolize Death
Choosing the right flowers for a funeral can be organized into a perfect list of 7 flowers that are normally used for funerals. The cost for sending flowers to a funeral generally has a wide range between $29.99 up to $750.
Here are the 7 most popular flowers for funerals because they symbolize death in different ways:
The “Forget Me Not” flower: This is the perfect ice breaker at a funeral service when everyone is trying to figure out what is okay to say to each other.
Just ask other people what they think of the “Forget Me Not” flowers and there will be an instant rapport.
Chrysanthemum: Also called the mums. This is a popular choice in Europe.
Usually white mums are frequently the flower of choice at funerals. Careful not to let anyone try to eat any piece of this flower because they are toxic if ingested.
Gladiolus : a very popular choice for strength. Not surprising since its a large flower that can on average be 3 feet long.
These flowers can keep growing every year from the same bulb that was planted.
Hyacinth: This beautiful bell shaped flower is frequently found in the color purple at funerals. It is a common symbol for the expression of sorrow.
Lily: usually white lilies are found at funerals. They are connected to representing hope and encouragement.
Usually, they have an noticeably enjoyable fragrance
Carnation: the traditional flower for mother’s day!
This flower is a very popular choice if the deceased was a mother. It is also associated with a love for spirituality.
Rose: So many different colors with different meanings. Black roses are the most commonly recognized flower at a funeral.
Other funeral uses for the rose depending on their color includes but are not limited to; red is associated with love, white with purity, and pink with gratitude.
A Quick Guide To The Average Cost Of Cremation
Nationwide the average cost of cremation with a funeral is $6,000.What does $6,000 cover ?
- Transportation of the remains for cremation .
- Embalming and preparation for the memorial service at the funeral home
- Casket for a memorial service at the funeral home
- The memorial service at the funeral home .
- The cremation in the crematory.
Cremation without the body of the deceased present at the memorial service will average around $4,000 through a funeral home. This will exclude costs associated with preparing the body of the deceased making out much cheaper.
Usually the remains are cremated 2 days after death. Then the funeral home will transfer the cremated remains into a simple urn. The fancier the urn the higher the cost.
The cheapest option is also a great option. Cremation organized directly through a crematory can be completed for between $500-$1000.
You can even get a cremation for free by electing to donate your body to science. The cremated remains are sent to the family within 6 weeks.
There is virtually no state assistance for covering the cost of cremating a loved one. Other than donating your body to science do it for free, the only other assistance will be the social security death benefit of $255 to buy an urn for your remains that are sent back to them.
You have to be accepted to qualify for donating your body to science in exchange for a free cremation. Applying is very quick and easy.
Conclusion
Would it be silly to have someone walk you through having everything setup for you? It really shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to have the perfect plan for you.
You can take 30 seconds to fill out the form on the right for an instant life insurance quote that will cover all of the final expense costs for you. Is our assessment of the average costs wrong?
In your experience have you found the costs to be a lot lower or a lot higher? Please comment below and let us know!
About the author
Victor Vega has over a decade of experience in working with individuals regarding their personal finances after starting in 2007 at Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor. I started Garden Mutual in 2020 so that you could have access to a life insurance agent that puts your interests first! As an independent agent, I work with over 10 carriers. This means that my loyalty is to my customer and not any one particular insurance company . Let me provide you with objective information that you can use to pick the best life insurance policy for yourself today. We are always looking to improve ourselves for your benefit!
If there are any problems with the information in this article would it be ridiculous to let us know in the comment section below?
Email me at info@gardenmutual.com or call me at 908-388-4916.
