Why Your Final Expenses Could Be More Than You Think

Year after year, the price of laying our loved ones to rest has increased across the world, with the median cost increasing almost a third over the past 10 years. The rising prices have been noted by more than just the families who are left to pay the price. A Forbes article explained that monetary inflation and increasing overhead costs in the industry are partly to blame for growing sticker prices on funerals. Funeral services were once held in the home of the deceased. Social shifts toward privacy and sanitation moved final rites to dedicated areas, driving up operation costs. A gradual move in the funeral market toward large corporations and away from local businesses also increased those providers’ profit margins.

National Funeral Directors Association statistics give a breakdown of the cost of average common funeral types. The findings show that an average funeral can cost $7,360, but the price can be as high as $8,755 when you add a vault, which many cemeteries require. Note that not all online calculators account for all needed charges, such as casket, urn, or burial plot. That’s why it’s important to ask questions about potential extra charges if you choose a prepaid plan—and to consider them if you select final expense insurance.

The estimates listed here do not include additional charges for flowers, obituaries, grave plot, or monument or marker costs. These numbers also do not include cash advance fees, which can further increase costs when funeral providers use third-party vendors. We’ve broken down the estimate into two types: burial and cremation.

Funeral With Burial

Metal Casket: $2,400
Basic Services Fee: $2,100
Vault: $1,395
Embalming: $725
Facilities/Staff for Ceremony: $500
Facilities/Staff for Viewing: $425
Hearse: $325
Removal or Transfer of Remains: $325
Miscellaneous Preparation: $250
Printing for Memorial: $160
Service Vehicle(s): $150

Funeral With Cremation

Some families opt to hold memorial services and viewing prior to cremation. Other families, however, choose to hold their remembrances after cremation, letting the urn symbolize their loved one. The median price of funerals with cremations is $6,260. As with the above estimate of services with burial, this number does not include cash advance fees or cemetery monument or marker costs.

Basic Services Fee: $2,100
Cremation Casket: $1,000
Embalming: $725
Facilities/Staff for Ceremony: $500
Facilities/Staff for Viewing: $425
Third-Party Cremation Fee: $350
Removal or Transfer of Remains: $325
Urn: $275
Miscellaneous Preparation: $250
Printing for Memorial: $160
Service Vehicle(s): $150