Today, it is not uncommon for traditional funeral and burial
costs to be well over $10,000+ in many areas of the United
States, and these costs continue to rise fast! This is due
in large part, to the rapid increase in cremation rates over
the past few years. As a result, many families are finding
it difficult to pay these expenses. This makes an already
difficult time much harder for the family.
As an active licensed funeral director with over 28 years
funeral service experience, I have personally assisted
thousands of families in making funeral plans for a loved
one. While some were prepared, unfortunately in my
experiences, most were not and finances was usually the key
issue.
One way to avoid this problem is to consider prearranging
funeral services. Many funeral homes and cemeteries now
offer programs that allow you to preplan funeral and burial
arrangements. In some cases, they will even freeze your
costs for these services. As a funeral director, I strongly
urge anyone to consider looking into these options at your
facility of choice. This one thing alone could potentially
save you thousands of dollars as funeral prices continue to
escalate.
Another way is to become educated about the process of
funeral planning. There is an abundance of material
available on this subject and much of it is free for the
asking. Contact your funeral facility of choice, most will
be happy to send you educational material that could
possibly save you thousands of dollars when the time of
need arises and hopefully make that time less stressful.
All reprint rights for this article are granted by the author provided no changes are made to content or associated links.
Funeral Director Continuing Education
Before hospice for years families struggled daily while caring for terminal loved ones, many times with little or no support. Sadly, these patients themselves often had little professional support and sometimes no support other than what family and friends could provide. At the end, loved ones were faced with the task of making final arrangements, usually physically worn and mentally fatigued. Hospice programs have had a huge impact in this area, providing the caregivers with “respite care" and allowing them time to rest and relax.
Hospice has had other positive influences in funeral planning as well. It has been my experience that families working with hospice programs are generally better prepared for funeral planning. Many hospice programs offer funeral counseling as part of their programs. These can range from general information counseling to assistance with all stages of planning or preplanning a funeral. It has been my observation that families involved with these hospice programs are many times far less stressed during the funeral arrangement conference and certainly better informed.
Today in almost all areas of the United States hospice programs are available. Hospitals, nursing facilities, etc. have long recognized the positive impact these programs bring to the patients and their caregivers. Finding a hospice program can be as simple as calling your local medical facility or health care provider and requesting this information. Any of these facilities should be able to provide you with referrals to your local hospice programs.
As a funeral professional, I encourage anyone faced with caring for a terminal loved one to consider a hospice program in your area. The benefits and support of these programs are immeasurable to the patient, caregivers and families. I cannot think of better advice to give to any family and in hopes it will make the burden of final planning also easier to bear.
Jerry R. Guy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Improvement, Elder Care and Stress Management. Jerry R. Guy is an active licensed funeral director and author. More information on saving money planning funeral services may be found on his site:
