There are a lot of things you are going to concern yourself with when a loved one passes on and you have to figure out how you are going to cover their needs. You are going to work closely with funeral homes in Harrison City, PA to make these important decisions. One of the things you will think about is how much things cost. While you might want to simply choose things for your loved one, getting nothing but the best for them, you need to be able to afford whatever you decide upon. Some people choose cremation services because they don’t cost as much as funerals. While that’s a fact, why is that the case? Here are a few reasons why.
When you go with cremation, you can do whatever you want with your loved one’s remains. That could mean burial in a cemetery, but it doesn’t have to. You can also scatter ashes, or keep them in the family home. Those options are free. When you have a funeral, the guests will process to the cemetery for a burial service, most likely. You are going to have to buy a plot in a cemetery for your loved one’s final resting place. That’s the only option that comes with a funeral and it costs much more than scattering or keeping remains at home.
Cremation packages come with everything you need for your loved one’s final services, including a simple container for their remains. Even if you decide you want to get an urn for them, the urn will cost a lot less than any casket you could buy. Urns are smaller and take much less materials, therefore they cost less. The casket is going to add to the overall cost of the funeral and it’s not optional. While you can get a simple casket, you do indeed have to have a casket to move forward with services.
Embalming is an optional service and not everyone who has a funeral will be embalmed. But the process is costly and it’s never necessary with cremation. It takes expensive chemicals and professional application. If you are going to have a visitation, or an open casket at the funeral (or both), then embalming is recommended and it’s going to make the funeral costs higher.
Funerals are generally held in a church or at the funeral home. You will have to rend the space and carry out the services in a certain way. There are traditions and ceremonies that go along with funeral services. Some of those things are going to cost. With a cremation service, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to have anything at all and if you do, it could be free and in a family home or park, for example. You can customize things and make then cost-effective at the same time.
When you are trying to figure out what you want to do between cremation and traditional services with funeral homes in Harrison City, PA, of course consider what your loved one wanted, but also the costs associated with those avenues.