Planning a funeral is not an easy task. You will have to ensure that the event is conducted in the best possible way while at the same time making sure that the budget doesn’t blow through the roof. And for people who are confused as to what to consider when planning a funeral, the below tips will certainly prove useful.
Find The Cost
Considering that funerals can be very expensive, costing anywhere from $7000 to $10000 per funeral, it is understandable that the first thing you need to find out about the funeral is the total cost of the event. And be sure to shop around, asking multiple funeral planning services for quotes. Don’t just tie yourself down to the first quotes you get thinking that it is a good one. In fact, you may have received a better price if you had just consulted a few more funeral services. Online websites like funeraloncity.com can also help you find and compare funeral homes in your region.
What Is Included
In addition to the quote, another important thing to look for is what services are included. Generally, there are three aspects to a funeral – corpse preparation, the funeral ceremony, and the handling of interment. And for each of these aspects, you will have numerous choices. For example, for preparing the corpse, you can choose from burial or cremation. And if you choose a burial, then you have to decide whether the burial needs to be done in the ground or in a tomb.
Don’t Pay In Advance
Some funeral services offer packages at lower rates if you buy it in advance. And even though it looks good on paper, this is rather a bad idea. If you pay for a funeral right now, there is no guarantee that you may be able to hire them when the time comes. For example, suppose that you bought a funeral package for your father. If in a couple of years down the line, you father passes away while living in New York, then you may not be able to use the funeral service you have hired in California. And even if you try to cancel the service, you may have to pay some hefty cancellation charges. As such, it is highly recommended that you only hire a funeral service at the time of death.
Avoid Packages
Most of the funeral planning services will offer you a package deal in the beginning. And these can turn out to be very expensive. Not only can they contain services and items you don’t need, but it is very likely that their price is also inflated. And since you might not be in a mood to waste time to look into it, you might end up overpaying for the funeral. Therefore, you should avoid any such funeral package services when offered. Instead, pick the services and items that you need and then ask the service to come up with a quote. This will ensure that you don’t waste any of your hard earned money on things that do not even make any positive difference to the funeral.