People feel overwhelmed by funeral costs and want simple options
10 posts across 6 communities in the last 60 days; 40% from r/povertyfinance.
“I don't understand why anyone would purchase this? I suppose if you don't have 10K you might purchase this? But you would obviously be better putting the money away to pay for it. Maybe it's a good option for a spendthrift person who can't control their spending and never has…”
“If you’re grandmother knew you were about to spend hundreds of dollars you don’t have to see her, she would tell you to stay home and save the money. Try to call or video call her, even if she’s no longer conscious, be able to tell her how much she meant to you and saying…”
“Question on timing because I’ve never done this before so I’m not sure if I’m being too pushy or not. My baby passed Monday and the crematorium said they would be there that evening to pick her up. Private cremation. I called this morning (Wed) to make sure they picked her up…”
Multiple users are researching affordable, no-frills death care services. One user noted cremation prices ranged from $800 to $3,000+, highlighting the financial burden of end-of-life arrangements.
SOURCES (35)
“If you’re grandmother knew you were about to spend hundreds of dollars you don’t have to see her, she would tell you to stay home and save the money. Try to call or video call her, even if she’s no longer conscious, be able to…”
“Question on timing because I’ve never done this before so I’m not sure if I’m being too pushy or not. My baby passed Monday and the crematorium said they would be there that evening to pick her up. Private cremation. I called this morning (Wed) to make sure they picked her up, and the man on the phone asked me where she was supposed to be picked up at multiple times. He was pretty lost in the conversation and not really listening to me. I asked a simple question, gave my name and her name, and a”
“Think of it from the insurer point of view. They are in the business of making money, and they know their customers will die (meaning they will have to pay), so $10k of coverage will cost a lot more than $10k. Just pay yourself and build up an emergency fund.”
“This is the way. I believe my father's cost about 4k a while back (he is still with us, just prepaid) including transportation, cremation, service, and I believe his grave market (he's a vet) plus some extra for the cemetery plot. This way, it's done and a loved one doesn't have to try to navigate your insurance policy to figure out what to do during a time of grief.”
“This isn’t easy to do in every area but yes if it’s an option, it’s a great way to go!”
“Contact a local cemetery and find out their burial options. A lot of them have deals with funeral homes to just pre-pay for the whole thing in advance”
“I think there is a lot of variables and fine print in those policies. My mother had "prepaid" funeral arrangements. She bought it from a funeral home near where she lived at the time. That was 10+ years before she passed. By that time, she lived two states away in an assisted living home. My point is that her arrangements changed a lot from the original contract, seemingly in favor of the funeral home, and there was still some out of pocket costs.”
“Honestly if you think you aren’t moving you could chat with funeral homes about options you may want and prepaying. That way you lock pricing in now, vice 10-20 years of inflation.”
“69 and 67 both healthy nonsmoker fixed incoe thinking $10,000 coverage each . the ranges oline are so broad they are not useful. anyone with a policy what are you paying per month and for how much covrage? submitted by /u/Amazing-Cicada5981 [link] [comments]”
That's still around 8k. Cremation is cheaper but not by much.
“Personally I'm not into supporting the whole death industry racket. My instructions are cremate me, invite all my friends to an Irish pub with my urn (or cardboard box) on the counter and buy a few rounds.”
“I don't understand why anyone would purchase this? I suppose if you don't have 10K you might purchase this? But you would obviously be better putting the money away to pay for it. Maybe it's a good option for a spendthrift person who can't control their spending and never has savings. But honestly, if they have a home, it will get sold and reimburse the funeral expenses.”
“do NOT do this unless you were personally INVITED by the family. Obituaries and funeral services are generally posted in a public way especially with social media. That’s does not mean it’s a “public event””
“Funerals are dang expensive. My parents had Catholic funerals and they cost an easy $10k USD. It feels like pomp though. People who didn't have $5k saved in life have expensive funerals they're not even there to experience. What's the point? I remember when my mom died several years ago. I felt bad because she didn't have a headstone for over a year. I always assumed like most people had headstones shortly after they were buried, so I felt off about the lack of a headstone. I con”
i've been to two since then, no gift shops at either thankfully.
“Funeral homes are all mostly owned by the same couple companies. They will just ban OP from being involved.”
“most funeral shops are owned by mega corporations. It's rare to find an independent one.”
“at a funeral i went to a couple years ago they had a literal gift shop in the funeral home. i thought it was in horrible taste. it's one of the biggest 'outfits' in the area at a huge cemetery. my parents are buried there as a matter of fact. edit - i refused to check it out, but my brother took a picture of a sign that said "50% off all angel figures" in the shop. disgusting ghouls, i'm surprised they didn't sell t-shirts that said "grandma died and all i got”
“I didn’t mind planning the service part, I found that pretty cathartic but I would have paid handsomely to have someone coordinate the house clean out/ estate sale/ clean up, etc. THAT was terrible, time consuming and expensive.”
“I don't want the money wasted in that way. Give it to charity. Or throw a party for underprivileged kids. Buy dinner for the homeless shelter. Do something GOOD with $10k+ money.”
“A funeral director SHOULD do this, but if they can sell a family on the solid oak casket over the plain pine box, they can make more profit. When my father passed, the funeral director didn’t try to do a lot of upselling because we made it clear my dad was a simple man who didn’t like fancy over the top things, and while we were grieving, we weren’t distraught (watching a loved one suffer with Alzheimer’s for years you are relieved they are no longer suffering). Simple casket, military honors, n”
“Trying to capitalize on grief as if funeral homes arent enough. How about estate planning instead”
“Where I live, there are a lot of older people whose children live in the bigger cities. One of my ideas is to contact local parishes and tell them about my services. They could tell it forward if needed. But yes, I would need other ideas also and not depend on that.”
“But... you won't be there for your own funeral :( Or will be in a free-roam spectator mode”
“Jokes on them. I don’t even have any family left so there’s nobody that would be stuck with the cost ☹️😭”
“Don't want people I care about throwing away thousands of dollars for a couple of hours and a grave I KNOW they will never visit, nevermind visit regularly... just cremate me, scatter me over some water somewhere and spend the money to take time off or honestly buy yourself something nice”
Same. I wouldn’t mind that happening after I checked out.
“We recently shared a callout looking to speak to people struggling to afford funeral costs, and wanted to say thank you to everyone who participated and shared their experiences. submitted by /u/nbcnews [link] [comments]”
“Not my own but thought some members here might want to discuss. Thanks! submitted by /u/MidAmericaMom [link] [comments]”
“I don’t think your family has to take responsibility for the body at all. If you truly don’t care, let the county health department dump you in a paupers grave/cremate you. I am sure it varies state to state and it may be different if you have property that the county can claim. If you do want someone to have your ashes, there are cremation services that operate cheaply, but anything other than a plastic bag is going to be overpriced.”
“Yikes! Just had one for my mom this week, the upfront cost would have been $1,095, though we paid an extra $40 for an actual nicer urn. And we're in one of the most HCOL places in the country! (There's something ironic about only death being comparatively cheap.) The hospice gave us a list with the price of direct cremation at every single mortuary in the county. They ranged from $800 to $3,000+, though most were in the $1,000 to $1,500 bracket. OP, it might be worth seeing if you can fi”