Funeral Preparation – Embalming, Dressing, Casketing

Funeral Plans – Funeral Preparation

This video goes through the process of embalming, washing and dressing and  the deceased that take place at a funeral home.  he only thing that couldn’t be done yourself would be the embalming. Remember the funeral rule stipulates embalming is NOT required by law in any state in the U.S. or province in Canada.  If you check general price lists before making any funeral plans you will find that by doing the preparation yourself , although not for everyone, it can save money as well as provide a sense of closure for those involved.

Funeral Plans for Various Customs

This will give you a basic introduction on some of the customs that are incorporated in a funeral service.  If you are making funeral plans for a person of the Jewish faith or the person is Catholic, here are guidelines that will help you in your funeral arrangements.

Presented by  Steve Spann – www.guptoncollege.com
Steve Spann is the president of John A. Gupton College, which provides a professional curriculum in the funeral arts and sciences.

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10 ways to Save Money when Funeral Planning

1.  Talk about it!

Let your family know about it so they know what you want. Don’t leave it up to them to guess. You also need to know what they might want (after all funerals are for the living). I hear people say ” its all in my will” .What they don’t realize is that the will isn’t read until days or maybe weeks after the funeral. Its possible that you just want a simple funeral but “simple” may mean something entirely different to someone else than it does to you.

2.  Shop around.

When I worked as a funeral counselor we didn’t want people to shop around. They would be considered a pain in the neck customer. Price shopping can save you a lot of money. The local funeral home down the street may be several thousand dollars more than the one across town. If a casket prices start at $500.00 are not on display. Ask to see one. You may get lead to a basement or a less than welcoming showroom. This will indicate the attitude of the firm you may be dealing with. When I was selling caskets we didn’t even have a picture of the cheapest casket, which by the way was $2000.00 never mind one on display in the showroom.

3.  Don’t be bullied or pushed into buying things you don’t want.

If you are making arrangements at the time of death take someone with you to make sure you buy only what you want. Don’t get caught in the “guilt trap”, and buy more than you wanted to out of guilt. The official term is the “grief factor”. This is when people spend more money on a funeral than they intended to out of guilt thinking that it shows how much they loved the deceased. Don’t get sucked into the mind trap of spending more money becasue you don’t want to appear cheap. You shouldn’t be looking to put on a show. Most funeral homes sell packages and one funeral looks just like the next. Pick and choose the products you want. Personalize your memorial. If feel you must spend a princely sum of money on a funeral, don’t waste it on the stuff that will be buried or decay. Throw a party that will never be forgotten.

4. Did you know that you can build your own casket?

There are several online merchants that sell kits or plans. You may buy from one of the casket specialist online and save hundreds and get free shipping. It is illegal for a funeral home to charge a handling fee for a casket that you provide. You can also choose a minimalist container (pressboard or pine box) cover it with other material or decorate it. I know of a funeral where the family provided a plain box made from cedar and the children decorated it as they thought the grandma would like. A casket that retails for $1200 might only cost $300 wholesale. If purchased from a casket outlet it might only cost $600.

5. By far the least expensive options

are know as “direct burial” or “direct cremation” They are no-frills basic service options. You don’t need to buy beautiful caskets, no embalming, no make-up artists or funeral service is envolved. Interment for cremated remains is usually but not always less expensive. You can have the basic services done at a funeral home in the next town rather thatn the local one.

6. I have been at several funeral services where the body was not present.

Usually this was due to logistics, the deceased was too far away or had already been interred. Without a body at the service there is no need for embalming, expensive caskets or transporting the body to a service venue and back. Good byes can be said at home, a park, the favorite camping spot or at church eliminating the need to pay extra for funeral home staff.

7. Embalming is not rquired,

is expensive and toxic to the environment. Just skip it all together. It is not necessary if the body is interred in a day or two.

8.  One overlooked option is donating the body to science

or a medical school. It may not cost the family at all, or there may only be the cost of transporting the body to the institution. In most cases the cremated remains are returned to the family in a year or two.

9.  Not all cemeteries require burial vaults or grave liners.

There is no law that does. If the cemetery of choice requires it, go for the liner rather than the vault. The liner costs a fraction of the vault. Again make sure you shop around. The outer burial contain or vault is a way for the funeral home to make more profit margin. With the prices of the vault as much or more than the coffin, keep in mind that a vault is a box to put the box into that will be put into the ground and covered by dirt.

10. DIY

Not the whole thing but some of it. It has only been in the last century that the mortician has taken over. A family or church group may handle a death without the use of funeral home services quite easily. In a lot of cases participants have reflected that it is therapeutic.

One last tip that may be of use.

Join a funeral consumers alliance. Some have contracts with funeral homes for reduced cost services. They usually know which funeral homes are reputable and may have already done the “shopping around” for you. Usually there is a fee to join but this is small compared to the savings that can be had by using their services. Funeral directors are in business and need to make a living like you or I do. It is our job to choose how we want to say good bye to our loved ones and not take on massive personal debt in doing so.

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The 10 Commandments of Funeral Planning

As I have pointed out my goal with these articles is to save you money when funeral planning.

Commandment 1:

Thou shalt contemplate thine own death. -  The reality is that YOU ARE GOING TO DIE! Accept that fact. Wasn’t that easy? Now you can get on with commandment #2.

Commandment 2:

Thou shalt write a list of what thou dost want. – Whether you are just starting out or a veteran at life write your kick the bucket list, it can always be revised. What do you want to do before you die. Let other people know.

Commandment 3:

Thou shalt make thine own wishes known unto thy family – Talk to your loved ones or family. It makes things way easier in the long run.

Commandment 4:

Thou shalt shop around. – A funeral is a large cash outlay. Most people shop around for a TV or washer and dryer. A funeral costs more yet most people don’t shop around!

Commandment 5:

Thou shalt purchase thine casket or urn from an third party. The best is place to look is on the internet. It shall save thee grievous dollars.

Commandment 6:

Thou shalt not purchase a funeral package. Again you can save a lot of money by NOT getting the package. They are designed to make the most margin of profit for the funeral home.

Commandment 7:

Thou shall not make funeral arrangements under duress. All right, I know all funerals are under duress. But if you plan ahead some of it can be avoided This is the time when people buy stuff for the wrong reasons.

Commandment 8:

Thou shalt write down the details of thine funeral in advance. Tel friends and relatives where important stuff like the will, where the banks accounts, life insurance are. Roosevelt didn’t do this and his wishes were not found until after the funeral.

Commandment 9:

Thou shalt not let the funeral director or salesperson take charge. Stay in charge of your family’s funerals and it will be less likely that you will get taken advantage of.

Commandment 10:

Thou shalt negotiate. You are entering into a contract. Don’t be a chiseler, but come out with a win win deal.

The biggest mistake that you  can make is to not talk about your wishes. You may say “just dig a hole and throw some dirt on me”, but the reality is funerals are for the living. By researching and planning in advance you can save yourself money and save your loved ones stress at a later date.

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