Planning a funeral is the last thing that anyone looks forward to, but as life would have it, death is as certain as life. No matter how much we try, we all come with an expiry date. Saying a final good bye is really painful but moving on with life in spite of the pain is the way of life. Here are certain tips which can help you to plan a decent and cost effective funeral for your loved ones.

There are hundreds of funeral homes in the country whose service and rates vary depending upon your choice. However before you make your final choice bear in mind that cemetery fees are different from the funeral home charges. A funeral home would only provide the coffins and flowers for funeral, but do not cover the burial costs.

There are certain items like the fees for the cemetery or crematory, death certificates and clergy fees which the funeral home pays directly to the third party and you need to pay for them even before the funeral.

If you are opting for burial options the cost would include services for grave opening and closing and perpetual maintenance of the grave site. You would also be charged by the funeral home for the purchase of a grave site, if you buy it through the home.

If you’re loved one passed away in some other state or country, then arrange for a funeral home from the home destination. They would arrange the transportation of the funeral casket with the funeral home at the origin, and you can avoid paying two funeral homes from two different states.

If you are the legal heir to the deceased then keep a tab on receipts for costs you incur for planning, food, transportation, professional help. This would help you to get inheritance tax benefit.

Consider putting a death notice in the local or national newspaper depending on the popularity of the person. It would allow friends and relatives in other parts of the country know about the death. However, be very careful while doing this as robbers and scammers look out for such opportunities to rob your property.

The average cost of cremation is lower than burial services. A public crematorium would not cost you anything more than $2000, while the average burial price is around $5000 on an average nationally. If you would like to hold on to the remains of your loved ones after cremation, you can ask you funeral director to provide you with cremation urns which are easily available with most of them

Last but not the least keeps the proceedings simple. Cut out anything that is not required. Ask people to share their memories and use flowers and perfumes which the deceased loved on his final journey to the grave.