Advantages of Direct Cremation
Advantages of Direct Cremation
One of the most common questions we receive about funeral planning is “How can I save the most money on a funeral?” While our automatic answer—to pre-plan your funeral today and lock in low rates paid out over a long period of time—is best, the reality is that most people need to save money on a funeral now instead of in ten or twenty years.
If you are planning the funeral of a friend or family member who did not make any advance burial arrangements, the best way to save money on funeral costs is to choose direct cremation. This option is difficult for some people (because it opts for cremation over burial and because the amount of ceremony/traditional fanfare is low), but you can walk away with a fully dignified funeral plan for as little as a few hundred dollars.
What is Direct Cremation?
Direct cremation is the act of cremating the body of the deceased without a traditional funeral accompanying the process. Instead of choosing a casket and gathering your loved ones for a formal goodbye at a funeral home, the body will be processed and handled by the crematorium before being placed in a simple cardboard container. The same amount of care and respect is offered to the body, but because you skip the funeral home and all its accoutrements, you can save thousands of dollars.
Funeral costs you don’t have to worry about with direct cremation include:
- Casket
- Embalming
- Funeral Home Fees
- Funeral Director Fees
- Church or Memorial Service
- Body Preparation
- Viewing/Visitation
- Transportation
- Burial Plot
- Headstone
- Grave Liner
- Opening/Closing Grave
You may choose to purchase an urn to hold the cremated remains, but it is also an acceptable option to go with the box the crematorium provides. You can then move the remains to your own receptacle, scatter them according to family wishes, or take advantage of any of the cremated remains special options (such as becoming part of a coral reef, being shot into space, or purchasing a living tree memorial).
Of course, direct cremation is not always about finances. For some people, the idea of leaving a smaller carbon footprint is the real lure. For others, it is more important that direct cremation offers you the chance to have a portable urn (ideal if you’ll be moving or want to divide the ashes between multiple family members). Still others prefer to put the focus more on the life of the deceased—the memories and the legacy he or she leaves behind—instead of the pomp of a funeral.
Whatever your reasons, direct cremation is growing in popularity among families seeking more streamlined funeral solutions. If you want to save money and avoid much of the excess of funeral planning, direct cremation is a respectful and low-cost option.
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