Folks often ask if cremation is cheaper than burial and answer is always that it is, but it may not be as big a saving as you think it might be. Think about it this way: the cost of a funeral can be broken down into three parts; first the Funeral Home has its own charge which covers professional fees, use of the facilities, embalming, staffing, etc. The second part is for the casket or container that you chose and the third part is for the disbursements that we pay on your behalf such as newspaper notices, registration costs, clergy, luncheons, etc.
Theoretically, despite the fact that you choose cremation over burial, some charges could be parallel to each other. In essence, you could still choose embalming, have a day of visitation, have a funeral service the following day either in the Funeral Home or at another location…you could purchase the same casket that will either be interred or cremated…you could run the same newspaper notices, give the same honorarium to the clergy and have the same luncheon after the service. In that case, the charges on the Funeral Home side would be the same. The financial difference then with burial vs cremation would become at the cemetery. Keep in mind that in any grave you can inter one casket and two cremations or if there is not going to be a casket interred, you can inter four cremations. Given the cost of cemetery plots and opening/closing charges in a municipally operated cemetery, this is what the outcome would be for purchasing interment rights and opening/closing charges for FOUR interments:
| BURIAL | CREMATION | |
| LOT PURCHASE @ $1673.25 | (four graves) $6,693.00 | (one grave) $1,673.25 |
| INTERMENT CHARGES | (four interments) $4,905.36 | (four interments) $1,602.24 |
| TOTAL | $11,598.36 | $3,275.49 |
And so the question then is…”Are there options?” Definitely there are options…both on the Funeral Home side and the Cemetery side. Don’t be afraid to ask!
Until next week,
Marc
