I’m a funeral accountant. Basically, I am a CPA and financial planner that specializes in helping families save money when they need to make funeral arrangements. As the economy has slowed and funeral prices continue to outpace inflation, more families are finding they need help covering funeral expenses.
While it is true that funeral and cremation services are often the third largest expense the average family makes (after a home and car), there are things that can be done to reduce, or even eliminate, many of the unnecessary or overpriced items associated with a funeral.
Funeral and cremation services are expensive because of the law of supply and demand. We are all going to die sooner or later. In fact, the funeral business is a growth industry. As baby boomers age, the American death rate is slowly creeping up. But all of this extra demand ends up at the same place – the funeral home. Although there are less traditional options (such as donating your body to medical science), just about every family uses the services of a funeral home.
The good news is that most families do not need to plan a funeral very often (about once every 15 years, on average). The bad news is that most families do not need to plan a funeral very often. This means the typical family is unprepared both emotionally and financially for the realities of death. Simply put: most families have no idea what they need (or what it should cost) when someone they care about dies.
Funeral directors know this. They realize that the average family has no idea what it is they do. So they sit back and wait. Once they have a family inside the funeral home office it becomes a relatively simple process. They just tell the family what they are supposed to buy. Whether the family really needs (or can even afford) all of the things the funeral director is trying to sell them is beside the point. Very few families are willing to question the funeral director. And even fewer families know that less expensive options are available.
This is where I come in. As a funeral accountant I provide families with objective advice about the options, providers, and expenses associated with funeral and cremation services. Most families like dealing with someone who does not work on a commission basis. They appreciate getting objective information about ALL the options….even the ones that are less profitable for the funeral home.
Unfortunately, there aren’t enough funeral accountants to go around. And since the majority of families face similar circumstances when making funeral arrangements, I decided to create a resource (the Funeral $aver’s Kit) that shows families how they can save themselves money when making funeral arrangements.
Here’s the number one piece of advice from the Funeral $aver’s Kit: Take time to familiarize yourself with the options and prices that are available in your area. Funeral homes offer different services and vary widely in their pricing structure. It’s not uncommon for one funeral home to have prices that are more than double those of a nearby competitor.
Unfortunately, when a death occurs most families pick up the phone and call either the funeral home closest to their house or the funeral home they used in the past. Please don’t do this. If you happen to pick one of the more expensive funeral homes in town, you’ll be stuck with a high bill.
Also, an insidious trend has been occurring in the funeral industry. Large corporate-owned funeral homes have been buying out smaller neighborhood funeral homes. These big funeral corporations often target the most popular funeral homes in an area, buy them, and then secretly raise prices by at least 50%.
This means that if you haven’t used a funeral home in the last five years, there is an excellent chance that funeral home is now part of a large (and expensive) corporation. As a consumer, you would never know this. The large corporate funeral homes normally keep the same local name on the door. They may even keep some of the old employees around too. But make no mistake; the one thing that doesn’t stay the same is their prices!
So before you call a funeral home – any funeral home – take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the services, options, and prices from at least three funeral homes in your area. This simple step can often save you thousands of dollars in unnecessary funeral expenses.
You can check out the funeral-tips website for practical advice that can help you collect and compare funeral prices and options in your area.
Remember: there are lots of things you can do to save money when making funeral arrangements
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