Funeral costs can be just as individual as the person they are held to celebrate. That being said, where does the average price for a funeral fall? A basic funeral that consists of embalming, viewing, hearse, burial, service fee, transfer of remains and more - costs on average about $7,181.
Funerals are a major expense. Know what to expect.
Death is never convenient. You are never ready to lose a loved one. It’s one of those difficult things in life you simply cannot prepare for.
However, there is something you can prepare for. Be prepared to know what to expect the cost of the funeral to be. Funerals are not cheap, and even with life insurance policies, most families will often have out-of-pocket expenses
associated with the funeral.
When death comes to your doorstep and you are left grieving and forced to take on the role of funeral planning, the last thing you want to think about it how much is it all going to cost. However, you must in order to take care of the arrangements. Educate yourself today on what a typical funeral costs so that you are better prepared and if you ever find yourself in that position, you can focus on celebrating the life of a loved one and less on the financial aspect of the situation.
What is included in a basic funeral service
On average, basic funeral services cost approximately $7,181. However, this is not all-inclusive of additional add-ons that are common for many funeral services. So which services are included in this figure for the “basics”?
embalming viewing burial hearse service fee transfer of remains
What services are not included in this estimate for a “basic” funeral?
catered luncheon day of the service balloon release military honors burial dove release graveside music upgraded urn/casket
Certainly those options are not limited. People have come up with many creative ways to honor the memory of a loved one at funerals - those are just some common examples.
Funeral Costs on the Rise
Like most things affected by inflation, the cost for funerals also rises. The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) released a report that analyzed funeral costs from 2004 and 2014. According to the data they collected, the average funeral cost rose from $5,582 to $7,181 which is a 28.6 percent increase. While this may sound like a staggering increase, it’s not even close to the increase from 1980 to 1989 increase that was 87 percent.