Funeral cost-cutting boosts cremations

In the United States the recession has not only caused the fact that people are saving on living expenses but also on their dying expenses. More and more people economize on their funerals by not hiring limousines and cutting back on wakes and embalming. They also start to prefer cremations above burials, since a cremation can be up to $4000 cheaper.

Passing away is simply not a choice and you also can’t choose to postpone the expenses caused by it. And when there are no funds available for a traditional funeral, people choose something less expensive.

While the average funeral cost at Hollomon-Brown general Home and Crematory is $8500, the cost of a cremation is between $3000 and $5000. This has a clear effect on the figures National Vital Statistics Department shows. In 2006, about 34% of deaths in the United States were cremated in 2006. If we keep following the current evolutions that number will be 40% in 2010 and even 60% in 2025.

Some people just stick with funerals. Though they try to find measures to save some money. For instance it’s possible to have the visitation the same day of the funeral instead of having it the night before. This measure can save you up to $600. It’s also possible to not opt for a limousine service, which can save you $375. Another popular measure is skipping the viewing which makes it legal to skip the embalming also. Embalming can cost $500 to $700.

Moloney, co-owner of Long Island, N.Y.-based Moloney Family Funeral Homes says that he and his colleagues are doing everything they can to help bring down the costs. Though that’s not really simple because of the utility costs that are going up in the meanwhile.

This article really shows how big the impact of the economical crisis really is. How cruel it sounds, people are even forced to economize on burying family. Since I don’t have got any experience with arranging a funeral, I was really shocked when I saw the average price of $8500 for a funeral.

It’s a good thing that owners of funeral companies try to help out customers as much as possible by cutting in certain elements. Nevertheless a funeral stays really expensive and since you can’t really postpone it I hope the crisis will end soon.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/02/news/economy/recession_funerals/index.htm?postversion=2009040212