Posted by on January 15, 2009
This post provides price ranges for many of the items associated with a traditional funeral service. Reviewing these considerations will help you identify the type of funeral service most appropriate for your budget.
A traditional funeral service can cost nearly $10,000
While the average funeral costs nearly $7,500, many traditional funerals cost in excess of $10,000. Here are the main components typically associated with a traditional funeral:
- casket: $2,300
- funeral director’s basic services fee: $1,400
- embalming and body preparation: $600
- viewing / visitation ceremony: $400
- funeral ceremony: $450
- transportation (pick up body, limousine, and hearse): $625
- miscellaneous (certificates, permits, music, clergy, obituary, register book, service folders, obituary, flowers): $500
- grave site $1,000
- fee to dig grave site $500
- headstone $1,500
The above costs represent national averages for many of the costs associated with a traditional funeral service. Your actual costs could be higher (or lower) based upon geographic location, the funeral home you select, and the actual items you purchase.
Click to learn more about the cost of a traditional funeral service.
Posted by on January 13, 2009
This post identifies a variety of considerations related to holding a traditional funeral service. Reviewing these considerations will help you identify the type of funeral service that is most appropriate in your situation.
Advantages of a traditional funeral service
A traditional funeral service is the most popular –and therefore, socially acceptable- type of funeral service in America. The structured formality of the traditional funeral service may provide the family with a sense of comfort and closure not experienced in less formal service arrangements.
The traditional funeral affords ample time for friends and extended family to attend and support the surviving family members. A traditional funeral usually includes some type of viewing ceremony held one or two nights before the actual funeral. Since the funeral ceremony itself is almost always held during the daytime, this nighttime visitation allows friends to pay their respects, even if they work during the day. Also, by scheduling the traditional funeral three to six days after the death, extended family members have time to make travel arrangements, if necessary.
The traditional funeral provides many ways to celebrate the life of the deceased. Although the traditional funeral can be a fairly structured event, it also provides maximum flexibility in terms of casket choice, religious readings, flower arrangements, and eulogies.
Lastly, the expenses associated with a traditional funeral service leave plenty of room for negotiating a big discount. Using a resource like the Funeral Saver’s Kit to plan your funeral can often slash several thousands dollars from the funeral home’s bill.
Disadvantages of the traditional funeral service
The main disadvantage of the traditional funeral service is its cost. The traditional funeral service is the most expensive option in terms of service, disposition, and memorial costs. The average traditional funeral costs nearly $7,500 and often exceeds $10,000.
Many people also feel that traditional funeral services lack meaning. This is often the case when the family fails to personalize a highly-structured traditional funeral service. (The Funeral Savers Kit provides many useful tips that show you how to personalize the traditional funeral service for free.)
Holding a viewing during the evening, followed by the actual funeral service the next day, forces family and friends to make multiple trips to the funeral home (separate trips for viewing and funeral ceremonies). This may be an inconvenience for family members that are ill, disabled, or have to travel great distances. The traditional funeral also requires the greatest time commitment from the immediate family in terms of planning and attending ceremonies.
Unfortunately, the traditional funeral service is subject to the greatest amount of sales pressure from funeral home employees. Because there are many funeral goods and services associated with a traditional funeral, there are a lot of opportunities for the funeral home to sell overpriced (and often unnecessary) items under the guise of “tradition.”
The traditional funeral service, like any other type of funeral service, has both advantages and disadvantages. Considering both the benefits and costs associated with a traditional service allows you to make an appropriate choice for your family.
More about traditional funeral services.
Posted by on January 8, 2009
A “traditional” funeral involves the laying out of a casketed body for friends and family to pay respects. The casket itself may be either “open” or “closed”. An open casket is one in which the casket lid is left open so that the deceased is visible throughout the ceremony. A closed casket ceremony means the ceremony is held in the presence of the casket, but the casket lid is closed. The decedent’s family decides which option they prefer after considering the manner of death and condition of the body.
During a traditional funeral, some type of remembrance ceremony is held. This ceremony gives friends an opportunity to “say goodbye” to the person who has died and comfort surviving family members. The funeral ceremony may be open to anyone that wishes to come, or it may be restricted to invited friends and family members.
With a traditional funeral, the body is removed from the place of death and transported to the funeral home. At the funeral home, the body is embalmed and cosmetically repaired (i.e. the hair is combed, cleaned, and set and makeup, if needed, is applied). After the body is prepared, it is laid out in a casket.
Usually, a viewing or visitation ceremony is held the night before the actual funeral service. This gives friends and well-wishers an opportunity to pay their respects even if they can’t attend the actual funeral service (which is usually held during normal work hours). If the casket lid is closed during this time, it’s called a “visitation” ceremony; if the casket lid remains open during the ceremony, it is known as a “viewing.”
The actual funeral ceremony is usually held the day after the viewing ceremony. This is the formal ceremony in which the eulogy is given, often by a religious official.
Immediately following the funeral ceremony, the body is transported to its final resting place – usually a cemetery or mausoleum. A committal service (i.e. separate service held at the grave side) may also be held right before the casketed body is buried or entombed.
More about traditional funerals.
Posted by on January 5, 2009
Many people want to know what services are offered by a funeral home. Funeral homes, cemeteries, and memorial dealers all play an important role in caring for a deceased family member. However, funeral homes normally handle the actual funeral or memorial service.
Different funeral home services
But not all funeral services are like. In fact, funeral homes offer a range of services designed to accommodate different wishes and budgets.
Here are the most common types of services offered at most funeral homes:
· traditional funeral service
· immediate burial
· direct cremation
· cremation with services
· donation
· memorial service
· graveside service
· private service
You should not finalize any funeral arrangements before you understand the goods, services, and costs associated with each option. During the arrangement conference you should ask the funeral director to explain his services and prices in easy-to-understand language so you can make the right decision for your family.
Click to learn more about funeral home services and prices
Posted by on December 8, 2008
Choosing certain types of funeral or cremation arrangements can eliminate many unnecessary funeral costs. Choosing wisely will prevent you from being charged for lots of “extras” no one told you about.
Since most families do not plan funerals very often, they usually don’t realize what’s included (or excluded) in the decisions they make. All too often a family simply agrees to the funeral director’s recommendations – only to end up surprised when their final bill is 30% higher than expected.
Even though many of the goods and services offered by a funeral home are priced on an individual basis, certain selections you make will automatically trigger additional costs. Unfortunately, most families don’t find out about these additional costs until after the service is over and they get the funeral director’s bill.
Here’s an example of how this works:
When meeting with the funeral director he might suggest a “traditional” funeral priced at $500. You agree….thinking $500 isn’t too bad. However, what you didn’t realize (and what the funeral director failed to mention) is that a “traditional” funeral also means that you will need:
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embalming (another $500)
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casket ($1,500)
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viewing or visitation ($500)
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cemetery space ($1,000)
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open & closing the grave site ($750)
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outer burial container ($1,000)
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headstone ($1,500)
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announcing the funeral in a newspaper ($250)
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use of a hearse ($200)
….so when the funeral director said the “traditional” funeral service costs $500 – he meant it would cost $500 to hold the actual 45 minute funeral service. But, by choosing a “traditional” funeral service, you were also agreeing to purchase all of the other things that are required to conduct a traditional funeral.
In this case your total cost would be closer to $7,700. This is a realistic example (the average traditional funeral costs nearly $8,000). Simply understanding what’s included in the decisions you make can help you avoid such a nasty financial surprise.
You can use a resource like the Funeral $aver’s Kit to learn about the types of funeral, burial, and cremation arrangements from which you can choose. Section 2 of the kit identifies costs associated with each service and clearly shows which expenses will be included (or excluded) based on the choices you make.
Generally, your least expensive options (in order of increasing price) are:
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medical donation
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direct cremation
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immediate burial
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cremation with service
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traditional funeral
Click to learn more about the Funeral Saver’s Kit.
