About once every week, I get an email from a checkoutline.org visitor who wants to know how little one can pay to get a great (or at least a passable) send-off.
What, in other words, does a funeral cost — if cost is an issue? And these days it seems cost is a big issue. And not just because the economy has tanked. People are getting sensible. Let’s see: which is the smarter purchase? A grandchild’s college education or a lavish funeral for Grandpa? Which does more for posterity?
So how low can you go? The PMA Education Fund of 226 funeral homes has just completed its annual review of cremation and burial costs in Washington state: and the results are eye-opening for all of us, no matter where we live. In Washington cremation costs can vary by as much as 700 percent: from $549 for the cheapest to almost $4,000 (”for what is essentially the same no matter where you purchase it,” as the comprehensive PMA report drily observes).
Burial will set you (or your heirs) back around $2,500: that’s the average burial price in Washington. And a complete funeral with embalming, viewing, and a basic casket can go as high as $8,300 — or as low as almost $2,000.
So what does this all suggest? Shop around now. Yes, now — Before you need these kinds of services. Compare and contrast.
And above all: pick without paying. Put the money for whatever funeral you choose in a special bank account, and let your heirs tap into it when the time comes. That way you can be pretty sure it will still be there when the need arises!
(My thanks to all the smart people at PMA and the FCA — reachable at www.funerals.com)
It just boggles my mind that we as a society spend so much money on a toatally uselss procedure.
I still say my ashes in a Maxwell House Coffee can on top of the refrigerator will be fine with me. I can keep my “eyes” on everyone and as they say, “good to the last drop!”
Not sure how the boys will take to this, but then they do get Mom’s quirky sense of humor. I would rather they spend the money on a nice trip together in my honor!! I say get creative.
Why bother even with the Maxwell House Coffee can? If you’ve got a cat, disaster lurks! I’ve asked to have my ashes spread on the grounds of the house where we live. That way, every time a leaf of grass grows, I’ll be a green contributor.