Having to plan a funeral is a task that most people don’t look forward to doing. However, chances are at some point you will need to do it. While nothing can make the loss of a loved one easier, knowing more about what costs are involved in planning a funeral can help to make the process not as stressful for you. The best funeral services are those that you are able to plan out before the need for them even comes. Planning ahead can give you the chance to spare your family the costs and let you personalize the service the way you want. In either case, understanding the costs involved in planning a funeral can be helpful. Here’s a look at the different expenses.
Service Fees
Funeral service providers may charge a service fee. This fee includes general work that they will do regardless of what optional things you may add to the service. These general things are what are done for every funeral and include permits, death certificate copies, housing and transporting the deceased and employee work hours spent managing these activities and setting up coordinated efforts with others involved, such as the crematory or cemetery.
Optional or Additional Charges
Other costs will be things that you choose to add on or have done. These include the use of the funeral home for viewing the deceased and holding the funeral services. It may include the use of limosine transportation to and from the cemetery, the ordering of flowers, embalming, preparing the body for viewing, cremation services and graveside services. Other additional costs include the casket and burial containers or urns for cremated remains.
Reducing Costs
If you are like many people, cost always has to be a concern. There are ways to reduce costs for local funeral services. As mentioned the best funeral services are those you plan ahead. Planning ahead is a great way to save money because you get the funeral costs at their current amounts and not at the amount they will be when you actually die. This can save you hundreds of dollars.
However, if you are planning a funeral for someone who recently passed, then you can still save money. For example, cremation services are cheaper than burying a body. There are fewer expenses involved overall, which lowers the costs.
Even if you are looking into a burial, you still have options. You can choose to handle many things yourself to avoid extra charges. It is a matter of simply talking with your funeral director to see where you can cut costs and what you can handle yourself to keep costs low.
It is never fun to plan a funeral for means the loss of someone you really cared about. Even if you are pre-planning for your own funeral, it still isn’t something you really want to do. If you are looking for the most savings, though, pre-planning is going to give you the best funeral services price. However, if you are planning a funeral for someone else, you still can save money. Understanding the costs involved is the first step to being able to make the funeral more affordable.
