Struggling To Fund A Funeral For Your Loved One?

Posted on Mar 20 2018 - 4:05pm by Editorial Staff

Funerals are expensive events to arrange, often costing thousands. Many of us want to give our loved ones a good send-off. Even if they were able to leave some funds behind, these may not always be enough to pay for the event. Fortunately, there are ways to fund a funeral without sacrificing the important aspects. Here are several ways that you can help to afford funeral costs.

Shop around for funeral services

Like all businesses, funeral companies have to compete for customers, which means offering deals and promotions. By shopping around and collecting quotes from multiple funeral directors, you can find the cheapest rate. You should also be wary that you don’t have to buy everything through one funeral company. You may be able to buy a cheaper casket, flowers and gravestone by shopping online.

Consider a home funeral

A funeral doesn’t have to be held at a church or an official building. You could consider holding a home funeral, either at their home or yours. This can work out cheaper and it could be more personal as you won’t have restraints on the choice of music and the number of guests. You still have to dispose of the body, but this doesn’t have to be part of the ceremony – they could be buried or cremated before or after the funeral, putting the focus on remembering them and celebrating their life.

Negotiate pricing

Funeral directors are often willing to negotiate pricing. If you’ve got quotes from other funeral directors, ask for a price match. There may also be instalment plans available from some funeral directors. You can also choose to handle certain elements yourself such as sourcing the casket and flowers, which could help to cut your funeral bills.

Know your rights

There are lots of rights surrounding death and funerals. You may be entitled to government funding for your funeral or you may be able to hire a wrongful death attorney and claim compensation if the death was directly the fault of someone else. As for hiring a funeral company, you should never feel like you’re being pressured into using their services – you have a right to source items like urns and caskets elsewhere.

Take out a funeral loan

It’s possible to borrow money to pay for funeral expenses. There are specialised funeral loans that have 0% APR – this could prevent you collecting unnecessary interest. Make sure to always read the conditions when taking out a loan so that you’re not being caught out by hidden costs at a later date.

Ask others to chip in

If you’re paying for a funeral alone, it could be worth asking other family members and friends to contribute some money. Most people will be willing to chip in money if it was someone they loved and respected. You could collect this money in an account or you could get certain people to pay for and arrange certain items themselves.

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Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.