When my grandmother passed away, I was astonished to learn that I had been named the executor of her estate. After splitting up her belongings amongst my aunts and uncles, I turned my attention to planning her funeral. I didn't know where to start. Fortunately, I was able to find an excellent funeral home that understood how to help people plan beautiful memorial services. It was amazing to go through the process of planning the music, the speakers, and even the set-up of the room. This blog is all about planning gorgeous memorial services for the people that you love so that you aren't left grappling with difficult decisions.
If you have your heart set on resting in the ground after you pass on, it doesn't mean you need to build up a large fortune to make it happen. There are budget-friendly options you can choose to help reduce the financial burden on yourself and your loved ones at the time of your funeral. As a bonus, some of them are eco-friendly as well as budget-friendly. Here are four ways you can customize your in-ground burial during the pre-planning stage to make it easier on your budget.
1. Find a funeral home that will allow you to choose no embalming
Embalming is a long and involved process that can cost hours of the funeral director's time. It takes highly developed skills and detailed attention, and as such it can add considerable expense to the overall cost of a funeral. If you want to save money on your funeral and aren't planning to have an open-casket viewing before burial, opting out of this process can be a good place to start chiseling down. This does mean, however, that you'll have to choose a funeral home that has the facilities for refrigeration.
2. Rent a casket or buy one online
If you cut out the middleman (the funeral home) by buying your casket online, you may be able to cut down on costs significantly. This also allows you to shop around for your casket more easily by simply browsing through casket offerings online. If you don't want to shell out for even a budget-level casket, though, you can opt to rent one for the viewing instead. Again, this is the eco-friendly option as well, since it means the casket won't be buried with you; instead you'll be buried in a cardboard casket, cutting down on chemicals and wood usage and allowing the natural breakdown of the casket to occur more rapidly.
3. Choose a cemetery that doesn't require grave liners
Some cemeteries require anyone who's buried there to pay for a concrete grave liner or burial vault, which prevents the top of the grave from sinking in slightly over the years. This sinking in is a natural process, but the cemetery manager may feel that it's unsightly. If you find a cemetery that will allow you to pass on this added expense, you may save upwards of a thousand dollars.
4. Consider a "green burial" facility
A green burial often includes biodegradable casket options, no grave liner, and other cost-saving features such as an impermanent grave marker. Some families prefer to have a more permanent stone memorial at the grave site, but if you like the idea of becoming one with the earth and leaving no sign of your passing, this may be the perfect option for you. Your family may worry about finding the grave site in a few decades, but these green burial facilities generally keep a permanent record of each gravesite using GPS coordinates so the grave can still be located after the grave marker disintegrates.
These four methods can help you keep your burial more budget-friendly when you're planning your funeral in advance. If you don't actually pay for the funeral ahead of time, make sure you leave money specifically dedicated to your funeral expenses and make your wishes very clear to your family members so they'll know how to fulfill your wishes for an in-ground burial.Talk to a professional, such as Morris Nilsen Funeral Chapel, for more information.
Share13 September 2016
