Dying is an expensive business, there are no two ways around it, we’re all going to do it sooner or later, but these days more and more Americans are opting for cremation over the traditional burial type funeral, in order to save money. Skinflints I  hear you say . . . (I have excellent hearing, although my eye-sight is getting very dodgy – who said that) . . . anyway, there’s nothing skinflint about choosing to cremate your nearest and dearest instead of going to all of the added expense of a full blown funeral.

Cremation used to be a bit of a taboo subject in America, with traditional burials being “all the rage”, but these days the tables are definitely turning. In 1985, around 15% of deaths in America were cremated rather than buried, but now that figure is closer to 40%. Economics is a resounding factor in this turnaround, well, if you listen to the likes of the Cremation Association of North America anyway, and they should know. The Funeral and Memorial Information Council did a telephone survey too, which confirmed that out of the 858 adults they spoke to about the matter, the cost savings was definitely a primary factor for one third of them.

Costs of Cremation vs Costs of Traditional Burial

The price of both cremations and funerals vary considerably from state to state, but it doesn’t differ at all in one way . . . cremations are always cheaper. The cheapest cremation scenario could cost around $1,000, as opposed to traditional burials commonly coming in at between $10 – $15,000. Very often the casket alone can cost more than the entire cremation proceedings, depending on the type of casket you choose.

These days every penny counts for a lot of people, and families may already find themselves heavily in debt due to prolonged medical expenses, so the added expense of a costly funeral really can tip the balance. But is choosing cremation over burial something to be ashamed of . . . does it say to the world “we can’t afford to bury him/her” or does it say ” we don’t love him/her enough” . . . a resounding NO. There are other arguments for choosing cremation over burials too you know.

When you get right down to it, it’s generally the people who are left behind who gain the most comfort from an “all singing, all dancing traditional funeral” rather than the person who has died, many people genuinely don’t want to be a burden, either a financal burden to their families or a burden on the environment. Does it really matter if you have some burial plot to lay flowers on birthdays and holidays . . . no it doesn’t, ‘cos you can carry your loved one around in your heart every single day.

Cremations, Burials and the Cost to the Environment

If there’s one thing which America has lots of, it’s space, which is probably why so much of it has been gradually filled up with caskets and corpses around 6 feet under, and topped with memorials, headstones and mausoleums. It shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise to find out that countries which don’t have much space have been finding alternative methods of dealing with the death of loved ones for centuries. Let’s face it, dowsing corpses in chemicals to make them look more “lifelike” for a visitation, then prolonging the decaying process for as long as possible in a hardwood casket under the ground is not really doing anybody any good is it? If the whole procedure continues then eventually the whole world would be taken up by one big cemetery . . . spooky. Cremation is a much more environmentally friendly option, as well as financially friendly.  Embalming is not necessary for a cremation without the visitation, in fact, embalming itself can cause harm to the environment during the cremation process.

If you are concerned about the financial effects your death will have on your family, then it really is about time you organized your burial insurance to give yourself, and your family peace of mind, but even with sufficient burial insurance in place, why spend all of that money on a burial when a cremation can be just as thoughtful for a fraction of the expense . . . there could be a little money left over for your loved ones to enjoy.