Title: 7 ways to save on funeral costs - MarketWatch
Headings: 7 ways to save on funeral costs
7 ways to save on funeral costs
Kaitlyn Wells
Comparison shop online
Skip embalming
Decline the “gasketed casket”
Opt for wood if it’s a direct cremation
Buy a casket or urn elsewhere
Consider a home funeral
Donate to a medical school
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Content: 7 ways to save on funeral costs - MarketWatch
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7 ways to save on funeral costs
Published: March 30, 2014 at 7:49 a.m. ET
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Kaitlyn Wells
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These days, a funeral can cost upwards of $27,000, reports the National Funeral Directors Association. But even the least expensive funerals, hovering around $2,000, can be more than some families can afford. But there are ways to cut the bill. Roughly 6,700 people die in this country every day, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many leave behind grieving loved ones who may be unprepared to face the substantial price tag that is attached to most deaths. While the median cost of an adult funeral surpassed $7,000 in 2012, according to the most recent data by the National Funeral Directors Association, that’s an inflation-adjusted increase of only about 2% since 2000. And every detail can add to the bill — from choosing the flowers to deciding on a plot. Joshua Slocum, a spokesman for the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a consumer advocacy group, suggests that, to keep costs down, people treat funeral arrangements “the same way we treat other purchases” — by comparison shopping. Many consumers comparison shop for even minor purchases like a toaster, but you don’t hear about people doing the same for the many costs associated with funerals, Slocum says. Advertisement
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