With the cost of leaving forever rising and salaries going nowhere, sudden funeral costs can be a massive burden. When in grief, we often look for the easiest and most obvious answers to our problems, including an affordable funeral home. While this may simplify the process, it may not be cost-friendly. Therefore, it would help if you also find other budget funeral options you could use when the unexpected occurs.
Affordable funeral options
Contrary to what many in the funeral industry will tell you, how much you spend on your loved one’s funeral does not equate to how much you love them. You could spend twenty thousand dollars, yet you hated the deceased but feel that a proper funeral is the only socially acceptable way to go. Alternatively, you could spend fifteen hundred dollars thinking the world of them and visiting their graves daily. So if you cannot afford a traditionally lavish funeral, you are not a bad person. Therefore, some of your affordable funeral options could be:
Memorial Service
A memorial service is a service that occurs without the body in attendance, usually after burial or cremation. Such an approach depends on whether open caskets are popular in your country. However, if the deceased has been cremated, they can still attend. When the dead in attendance is cremated, you could pop them on a lovely urn on the centre stage of the table.
The great thing about a memorial service, as opposed to a funeral service, is that location is not an issue. You can have it at someone’s house, a local botanical garden, a theme park, a restaurant, or an event space. Suppose you prefer something more religious; your local spiritual leader can help coordinate something. Also, the service could be formal or casual because there is no laid structure.
Direct Committal or Direct Cremation
A direct committal is a no-service, no-attendance kind of deal. Families that take this approach combine it with a memorial service. The deceased is taken straight from where they died, assuming there is no need for an autopsy, to the burial site or crematorium within forty-eight hours. A direct cremation is usually more cost-effective than burial plots.
Most importantly, as you choose the direct cremation option, it is vital that you follow the will of the deceased if available. Direct committal could still be a good option if the dead had no friends or family left to attend a service.
Green Funeral
A green funeral is also known as a natural burial and can be a cheap alternative for people still lacking a burial. It is considerably more cost-effective as there is no need for an expensive lavish casket, headstone, grave liner or burial vault, which can easily reach over five thousand dollars. While most funeral companies will do green burials and can do so, it would be best to use a company specializing in green burials. Companies specializing in green burials will save you from the added stress and pressure.
With the high funeral prices, it is becoming harder for low-income families to grieve and say goodbye to their loved ones. It is essential that you do not let yourself be bullied into something you cannot afford. You could consider affordable funeral options that would help you save money.
