Helpful Tips for Saving Money on Funeral Costs

It is hard enough to grieve the loss of a loved one. Adding financial strain to the mix can make it even worse. Therefore, you might want to take a few minutes to check out some of the following tips for saving money on the cost of a funeral.

Skip the Burial

If your deceased loved one did not have any specific wishes when it comes to his or her burial, you might want to consider skipping the traditional burial and opting for cremation instead. This is a less expensive option for many reasons. You do not have to purchase a burial plot and headstone. You also do not have to worry about purchasing a casket. While there is still a fee for the cremation process itself, it is generally much more affordable, which may allow you a little room in the budget to purchase a very nice urn for your loved one.

Schedule Only One Viewing

The more viewings you have, the more you have to pay for the room that you will be using. Therefore, instead of spreading a few viewings over the course of a few days, you might want to keep it to one day of viewings. You could opt to reserve the room for one whole day, which may allow for enough time to have a morning and an evening viewing. Then again, maybe you are not expecting a lot of people or are extremely tight on money. If that is the case, you can ask the funeral home if you can save money by simply having one viewing during the day. Some people will combine the scheduled viewing time with the religious or standard burial service given by a pastor or the funeral home director to save even more money.

Ask for Donations to the Funeral Home Instead of Flowers

Many people, whether they are able to personally attend the service or not, like to send flowers or something else to help pay their respects. You can ask that instead of everyone sending the traditional gift of flowers to the funeral home, that they make a monetary contribution to the funeral home to help offset the cost of the funeral. You can let the funeral home know that this is what you would like people to do so that they can advise anyone calling in with questions. You can also have it noted at the end of the obituary that you have printed in the local paper.

With those few things in mind, you should have no trouble saving a little money on the cost of the funeral, which should help make things a little less stressful for you in this difficult time.


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