Just went through the process with a member of my husband’s family, and wow, was it pricy! This was not my experience in my family- we have always kept it very simple and inexpensive. Different things are important to different people I guess.
What would you consider a reasonable amount to spend on your funeral? What would you like your family to do?
For myself, a simple cremation will do just fine, meaning the day I die, my body goes straight to the funeral home to start the process of cremation, no viewing and no coffin needed on my behalf. I pass a billboard every day on my way to work that reads cremations ($1,295) and Burials ($3,495) I assume that is just the company’s starting prices here in South Texas.
One can pay pre-prices well in advance to save even more money assuming the costs will be a factor in the funeral expenses, this last part is straight from two friends who work for different funeral homes.
six years ago i spent 5000 on my husband .i let the girls pick out the urn because he was being cream mated and we did all the services in the Funeral home, i am told today it is more expansive
Under $10k, which is not cheap! Ideally the deceased person had the foresight to plan ahead pre-pay for many of the costs, like picking a funeral home, cremation, funeral services and final resting place. That hopefully makes it a lot easier for the family and all they have to do is follow instructions already laid out.
No one likes to think about their end here on earth, it is just plain painful, for those that do, pre-planning is the way to go, no guesswork about what the deceased would have liked. And to have it pre-paid is great, all they have to do is honor the last wishes.
We have already paid for our end of life arrangements. We have told our children. We have a card in our wallet. I believe it was about $4,000 for both my husband and I total. When we pass, someone calls the number at the Cremation Society of Pennsylvania. They will pick up the body, cremate it and return to the family in an urn. If my husband goes first, I’m keeping the urn at home with me. If I go first, he can do whatever he wants with me. When we both die, if there are still cremains here at the house our two adult daughters will have to decide where to sprinkle us. They can use their inheritance to pay for therapy if needed, since they both get grossed out easily. Fortunately, they are both married so maybe their husbands can help out. Then, we just want a funeral church service at our church.
When I die, I want my organs to be donated, because I have no use of them anymore, and I want my remains to be cremated. No need for a big service or anything, to me, that’s all for show. I don’t want my family spending all day at a funeral home crying as friends and family come by with condolences , I’d rather they smile and laugh at all the memories we created! I understand that that is what alot of people are used to, and that is fine for some, but life is different now.
I have mine planned out as do my parents. I want to be cremated - do whatever you want with my ashes. Although its important to my husband that I have a formal funeral, so that’s fine as well. I will never know. I do know that I want a gathering at my church to share memories. (I think 5K is reasonable, but less is better.)
I do have life insurance for this, and the beneficiaries are up to date. My dad’s is pre-paid, mom’s is not.
I have dealt with three funerals where I had to pay for final expenses. My dad’s was a military funeral where the plat and headstone were supplied by the government. That funeral costed $5700 still. My stepmother’s was $5400 and that was with a cremation. My mother’s was $10000, with plat and headstone included. If I could impress anything upon our folks here, it’s to have life insurance for this. If my parents would have been up front with me and said “we cannot afford life insurance”, I would have had them make me the beneficiary and paid for the policies myself, rather than charge $21,100 to the credit card in six year’s time. I could have paid for term insurance and not taken that hit. I have insurance on me now and my kids know that the policy exists and where the documents are.
Coming back to answer the original question: I’m joining a Memorial Society. It will allow me to have access to discounted services for my family. I can see the discounted prices for the funeral homes in the area and for $25 a year, it will save thousands in costs.
I heard an interesting report on NPR last week about environmentally friendly burials. The body is buried in a shroud or a pine, maybe cardboard, casket. The body is also not embalmed. This is truly an ashes-to-ashes, dust-to-dust thing. There are green cemeteries in many states and some cemeteries are now reserving space for green burials. According to the story, this option is considerably cheaper than other burial methods.
I plan on having my ashes mailed to the post master in Bora Bora along with $100.00 and a note asking my ashes be spread on the beach. He will probably just pocket the money and dump my ashes in the trash, but at least I’ll finally get to Bora Bora!!
My parents got me a job working in a graveyard when I was twelve. They figured it would keep me out of trouble. I worked their until I went into the Army. The first thing I figured out was that no one their was having any fun, including me! I have no desire to go back.
Being as i have no life insurance at the moment . if i died tomorrow , i would like to be propped up against a tree next to the river, with a fishing pole in my hands ,and a line cast into the water. ( with no identification whatsoever on me ) .
then when the Game Warden stumbles up on me , demanding to see my fishing license , after asking several times (with no response of course ) he finally grabs my pole from me to seize my property . to only find that i am dead . then i feel it is his (or her ) problem. Now they can seize my property and me . payback from previous harasses throughout my life.
and I will be looking down from heaven sharing a laugh with GOD himself.
p.s. hopefully a fish does not take my pole from me before this happens.
@raymond.justman posted:
Being as i have no life insurance at the moment . if i died tomorrow , i would like to be propped up against a tree next to the river, with a fishing pole in my hands ,and a line cast into the water. ( with no identification whatsoever on me ) .
then when the Game Warden stumbles up on me , demanding to see my fishing license , after asking several times (with no response of course ) he finally grabs my pole from me to seize my property . to only find that i am dead . then i feel it is his (or her ) problem. Now they can seize my property and me . payback from previous harasses throughout my life.
and I will be looking down from heaven sharing a laugh with GOD himself.
p.s. hopefully a fish does not take my pole from me before this happens.
Sir, That is an awesome reply, you put a big smile on my face and made me laugh too. Thank you…Bob.
My final plans are simple. I wish to be cremated. When the funeral director returns my ashes to my family, I would like them to place the zip-lock bag in an old shoebox. Bury the shoebox in my backyard next to all my four-legged family members. I want to spend eternity with those who were happy to see me come home. R.I.P.
@swp63 posted:
My final plans are simple. I wish to be cremated. When the funeral director returns my ashes to my family, I would like them to place the zip-lock bag in an old shoebox. Bury the shoebox in my backyard next to all my four-legged family members. I want to spend eternity with those who were happy to see me come home. R.I.P.
I like the part buried in your backyard next to your 4 legged family members. Seems reasonable to me. Hope your dream comes true.
