I’m going to depart from my usual abrasive tone and get sort of serious today. This is a sensitive topic, and I’m sure to hit a few nerves for insensitivity. Please bear with me, because this is important.
Soooo… y’know… the old “death & taxes” thing? I see a lot of conversation in the FI community and personal finance blogs about tax strategies. This is awesome, it has huge repercussions. However, I don’t see a lot of conversation about the death part, except for “make a will” and such.
The fact is, death is part of life. We are all going to be touched by the death of others as we move through our lives. And sometimes, we may be called to handle the arrangements for someone who has passed.
The funeral industry has huge profit margins. The death of a person is a one-time event, and often highly charged with emotion. Perfect formula for specialty services and high end products.
Step back for a moment. Honoring the departed is important. However, that person no longer cares about the details anymore. Gatherings, ceremonies, arrangements… those are for the people who remain here, rituals to assist the grieving process.
Several years ago, I found myself in the position to make the arrangements for someone who had passed away. The person had not been spendy or extravagant in life, so it seemed natural to follow that trend with the arrangements. As I proceeded, I was astounded at the cost of things. I realized that adding the category of “funeral” to something made prices skyrocket. Much like adding the “wedding” label, I suppose. Anyway, I quickly started eliminating that word wherever possible as I continued with plans and arrangements.
Someone passed a tip along to me that really made a huge difference. And let me be extremely clear here – no affiliate links whatsoever – I just think this is really important:
With a CostCo membership, caskets or urns can be purchased at approximately half the price that a funeral home would charge. Sometimes not quite half, but still.
So here’s how it works: CostCo is partnered with Universal Casket Co. You can’t buy directly from Universal, but once you have the CostCo membership, you work with Universal directly. When I did this several years ago, the membership fee was $55. The casket I purchased was $849 from Universal, and $1599 at the funeral home I had chosen for the services. That is a $750 difference. So that $55 membership saved me $695. There is no CostCo within reasonable distance to where I live, so I never used it again, but it was worth every penny.
The funeral director started to look a little frowny when I told him about the casket arrangements I had made. He began to talk about the “package” of services they offer and how they handle every detail during times of grief, etc.
That kind of pissed me off. It made me realize exactly how much of a cold, calculated business transaction this really was to him. Experiencing grief does not turn people into incapable morons. Pouring oneself into the managing the details can sometimes be only thing to get you through that period of time with your sanity partially intact.
My point is, do your homework. Be informed. Know the rules. Funeral homes are obligated by law to accept delivery on your behalf from any source you have chosen. They are not allowed to “require” you to purchase the casket from their establishment, no matter how much they may suggest so, or play to your emotions. Be polite, but stand firmly by your decisions.
It has taken several years for me to feel comfortable to even bring this topic into conversation. I sincerely hope someone benefits from reading this. Maybe CostCo is not the only way to reduce outrageous funerary markups. What about headstones..? Floral displays..? Comments are open for more suggestions… please chime in!