Planning a funeral is without doubt one of the most emotionally charged and financially susceptible moments a household can face. Within the haze of grief, individuals typically make selections primarily based on guilt, stress, or a need to honor their beloved one within the “proper” means, solely to later uncover they had been upsold into expensive and pointless add-ons.
Funeral houses are companies, and like all enterprise, many have gross sales methods. Sadly, these methods typically goal mourning households who aren’t in the very best place to make clear-headed monetary selections. The end result? Households strolling away from funerals are saddled with sudden payments and regrets about selections they by no means felt absolutely knowledgeable about.
Listed here are 10 of the commonest funeral add-ons that households want that they had skipped—bills that added little worth, extended the stress, or might have been averted altogether.
1. Embalming Companies
Regardless of what many individuals assume, embalming is just not legally required in most states until the physique will probably be transported throughout state traces or displayed for an prolonged interval. But it’s typically introduced as a normal or obligatory step, with a hefty price ticket starting from $500 to $1,200.
Households typically conform to embalming as a result of they really feel it’s a respectful choice or are advised it improves the looks of the deceased. In actuality, for personal or closed-casket providers, embalming affords little profit and infrequently provides to each emotional discomfort and monetary burden.
2. Costly Caskets
Caskets may be one of many greatest ticket gadgets in a funeral, with costs starting from a couple of hundred {dollars} to nicely over $10,000. Some funeral houses steer grieving households towards the extra ornate, sealed, or steel fashions, even utilizing delicate shaming ways to suggest that cheaper choices are in some way disrespectful.
However legally, all caskets should meet the identical fundamental operate: holding the physique. Whether or not you select mahogany with gold handles or a easy pine field, the top end result is identical. In hindsight, many households understand that an costly casket doesn’t change the love or respect that they had for his or her beloved one. It solely impacts their last invoice.
3. Sealed or “Protecting” Caskets
Typically marketed as providing additional safety towards moisture or decay, sealed caskets include an added charge and a dose of deceptive language. These “gasketed” or “protecting” fashions give the phantasm of preserving the physique longer, however in fact, decomposition is inevitable and never prevented by a tighter seal.
The truth is, in some circumstances, sealed caskets might speed up inside decomposition by trapping in moisture and gases. Households ceaselessly remorse spending tons of and even 1000’s extra on this upsell as soon as they be taught it has little scientific advantage.
4. Burial Vaults or Grave Liners
In lots of cemeteries, a vault or liner is required to forestall the bottom from sinking over time, however that doesn’t imply you want the priciest choice out there. Burial vaults can value upwards of $2,000, particularly when constructed from steel or strengthened concrete.
The funeral house might current vaults as an indication of dignity or as safety for the casket. However their function is structural, not sentimental. Households typically want that they had requested extra questions or pushed again towards the implication {that a} pricier vault equates to deeper love.
5. “Upgraded” Urns
For cremations, a easy urn can value lower than $100, however many households are guided towards ornamental, engraved, or artisan-crafted fashions that value a number of hundred {dollars} or extra. Whereas some households might genuinely need a distinctive urn, many report later that they felt pressured into spending greater than that they had deliberate.
Grief can cloud priorities, and plenty of discover themselves spending tons of on an urn that finally ends up saved out of sight. In hindsight, they understand that simplicity would have served simply as nicely and value far much less.
6. Printed Applications and Memorial Stationery Packages
It’s not unusual for funeral houses to supply full “memorial packages,” which can embrace custom-made applications, visitor books, thank-you playing cards, bookmarks, and even DVDs. These packages are sometimes marked up considerably and bought as a comfort throughout a hectic time.
Households typically remorse paying tons of of {dollars} for gadgets they might have simply designed or printed at house, particularly once they’re left with stacks of unused supplies. With trendy templates and inexpensive on-line providers, there are more cost effective—and infrequently extra customized—methods to honor a beloved one.
7. Limousine or Hearse Rental
Luxurious car leases are one other space the place households are generally upsold. Limousines for household transport or hearses for the casket can value a number of hundred {dollars}, and whereas they could appear conventional or obligatory, they’re not required.
Many households later report that they felt these providers added stress, not consolation, particularly when prices ballooned or transportation logistics grew to become sophisticated. Some now select to drive their very own automobiles or organize a extra modest procession that honors their beloved one with out breaking the financial institution.
8. Ornamental Casket Inserts or Linings
From velvet interiors to “reminiscence drawers” to customized embroidery, casket interiors supply yet one more layer of emotional advertising and marketing. These extras are ceaselessly bought below the guise of creating the farewell extra lovely, however their worth is fleeting.
Since most viewings are temporary and a few caskets are by no means opened, households typically remorse paying for visible upgrades that nobody in the end observed or remembered. These aesthetic touches not often present lasting consolation, however they do present a bump to the funeral house’s backside line.
9. Funeral Dwelling Flowers
Florists that associate with funeral houses typically cost premium charges for comfort. Whereas flowers generally is a beautiful tribute, buying them immediately from the funeral house might value double or triple what you’d pay from an area or on-line vendor.
What’s extra, elaborate floral preparations wilt shortly and are sometimes discarded after the service. Many households discover themselves wishing that they had spent much less on perishables and extra on lasting memorials and even donated of their beloved one’s title as a substitute.
10. Pay as you go “Package deal Offers” With out Transparency
Some households select to prepay for funeral preparations in hopes of locking in costs and lowering future burdens. However many pay as you go packages include unclear phrases, restricted flexibility, or tremendous print that leads to additional costs anyway.
Worse, if the funeral house goes out of enterprise or the phrases change, that pay as you go funding might disappear. Others discover they paid for gadgets they not need or want. Households typically remorse not scrutinizing the contract extra carefully or working with a monetary advisor or lawyer beforehand.
The Price of Grief Shouldn’t Be Monetary Smash
There’s no disgrace in wanting to provide a beloved one a significant farewell, however too typically, households are emotionally manipulated into spending way over obligatory. Funeral add-ons could also be pitched as loving gestures or indicators of respect, however in actuality, they’re typically designed to capitalize on grief.
One of the best ways to keep away from remorse is to plan forward. Have sincere conversations about last needs. Analysis your rights as a client. Evaluate costs. And bear in mind: honoring somebody doesn’t require overspending. It requires intention, love, and thoughtfulness.
Have you ever or somebody you already know ever been stunned by funeral prices? What do you assume households ought to know earlier than strolling right into a funeral house?
Learn Extra:
Why You Would possibly Be Paying for Two Funeral Plots With out Realizing It
How Funeral Properties Quietly Mark Up Costs for the Aged
Riley Jones is an Arizona native with over 9 years of writing expertise. From private finance to journey to digital advertising and marketing to popular culture, she’s written about every part below the solar. When she’s not writing, she’s spending her time outdoors, studying, or cuddling along with her two corgis.
