On the Money Trail
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How to Cope with the Increased Cost of Death
by Al Jacobs, author of Nobody's Fool
July 2007

An interesting and somewhat alarming article appeared in my local newspaper a few days ago.  Its title, “Make death a part of the cost of living,” caught my attention.  The author, Ric Edelman, a prominent financial advisor and host of the weekly Ric Edelman Show, pointed out that the average expense for a funeral in the United States is now about $10,000.  He then described how costs for necessary items such as casket, embalming, hearse, flowers, cemetery plot, headstone, and a myriad of other services, can be controlled and minimized.  He concluded with a recommendation to contact the Funeral Consumer Alliance, an organization in service since 1963, for referral to a local nonprofit Memorial Society.

Mr. Edelman’s advice is sound.  There is no valid reason why a death in a family need involve a financial burden to the survivors.  And make no mistake: A financial burden is exactly what many a death becomes, for the societal pressures brought to bear on the next of kin are often formidable.  Understand that the funeral industry in America is as aggressively marketed as any consumer product you will find.  One of the most striking depictions of the callous mortician is found in Edwin O'Connor's outstanding 1956 political novel The Last Hurrah, later made into a movie starring Spencer Tracy.  However, in the late Jessica Mitford's The American Way of Death, published in 1963, the practices of that business received thorough and accurate documentation.  Regardless of your feelings regarding Miss Mitford's Communist affiliations, the book became an important factor in subsequent legislation that attempted to curtail the many abuses then existing.  Thanks to those laws, and to a more rational attitude by a segment of the population as to proper disposal of last remains, the bereaved today enjoy a somewhat better chance to avoid victimization.  Nonetheless, do not presume that the business is all sweetness and light.  A funeral home’s typical 300 to 500 percent markup on casket prices makes your friendly used car salesman seem almost philanthropic by comparison.  What makes it particularly onerous is that while negotiating for an infrequently used product, the bewildered customer with a 96-hour interval between the death and the burial cannot easily say: “I’ll think it over a while and let you know.”

This seems an appropriate time to reveal this skeptic’s personal attitude concerning treatment of the deceased.  To begin with, many deaths are not a tragedy, but rather the welcome conclusion of a long-tenured and pleasing life.  To quote syndicated newsman Paul Harvey: “There ain’t no use worrying; you’ll never get out of here alive.”  With this understood, it’s only reasonable that we all plan for our eventual demise to insure minimal trauma for those we leave behind.  Most importantly, the actual disposition of the body should not cause uncertainty and/or financial hardship.  It’s a simple matter to make arrangements long before age and illness intervene to create urgency.  For many years, my wife and I have been members of the Tri-County Memorial Funeral Society.  An initial cost of $5 each entitled us to register with an affiliate mortuary, Pierce Brothers of Anaheim in our case.  Our instructions are on record that upon death, our remains be cremated at once and the ashes disposed of in the simplest and least expensive method.  As recently as autumn 2000, such arrangements required one 30-minute visit to the funeral home, with total cost for these services, including all necessary certificates and taxes, $772.32.  I’m pleased to report that, despite inflationary pressures on such items as gasoline, groceries, and university tuition, the cost to perform this vital disposal function remains essentially unchanged.  Thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to locate a facility that will offer a cremation service that is simple, dignified, affordable, and ecologically responsible.  One such firm is City Funeral Service of Yonkers, NY, www.nycremation.com, that quotes a price of $625.  Another is Funeral Depot, a nationwide enterprise, www.funeraldepot.com, whose charge is $795.  These are but two examples; there are many more throughout the country.

It naturally goes without saying that the concept of an inexpensive and unadorned disposition of last remains goes against the grain for many persons.  Promoted over the centuries by powerful nationalistic, religious, and commercial interests, society learned to embrace the ritualistic funeral, at which it became fashionable to display the decorated cadaver.  The concept that final internment of a corpse must take place amidst a ceremony to rival a royal coronation became universal.  It is this attitude, however, that defies logic.  If any sanity is to return, it’s particularly important to separate the disposal of the body from any final tribute to the deceased.  In reality, they have nothing to do with one another, despite an established agenda by the funeral industry to tie them together into an emotional package so to milk the ceremonies for all they’re worth.  It’s my firm belief that any desired memorial services be performed at least a week following final disposition of the remains.  Above all, entertain no recommendations from the funeral director except as to bare legal requirements for disposal of the body.

A concluding thought is in order.  At the time of death—whether anticipated or not—the next of kin may not be the best person to oversee the funeral.  It might be wise to relegate decisions involving these arrangements to someone with less emotional involvement, be it a business associate or more distant family member.  Remember always that true respect and compassion for the deceased is reflected by the relationships sustained during life, not by the hysterics that take place following death.

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Al Jacobs has been an entrepreneur for forty years. His business experience ranges from property management and securities investment to appraisal, civil engineering, and the operation of a private trust company. In his book, Nobody's Fool - A Skeptic's Guide to Prosperity, Al presents his Ten Ground Rules for Success for achieving wealth and a prosperous life by outlining a philosophy for spending, borrowing, making sound investments, and how to avoid being victimized by America's many intimidating institutions.