Summer 2009 Culture Watch Current Trends & Columns

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The average funeral now costs $7,323, not including cemetery plot, marker, flowers, or obituary, which can push the total toward $10,000. That's why cremation is the choice of about one-third of families, and projected to hit 60% by 2025. Cheaper alternatives are popping up, including:

• Discount service providers. New, small storefront operations, they handle the body and the paperwork without parlors or limos.
  
• Costco caskets. At warehouse clubs, they're nicer than a pine box, but without the funeral home mark-up.
  
• Formaldehyde-free farewells. Embalming is more custom than requirement. But schedule the service soon. And in a cool month.
  
• Cremation. Takes the pressure off a speedy service. In most states, a casket is no longer required for processing, making it even cheaper.
  
• Back to church. The old way is in again, using the sanctuary instead of the funeral home for the visitation and service.
  
• Graveside-only options. Create a meaningful farewell without renting a hall. (But beware the boombox tribute.)
  
• Free plots. Vets, service-club members, and poor people are often entitled to free or inexpensive burial plots.
  
• Family plots. In many rural places, it's okay to bury PawPaw in the back forty he loved so well. But check with the zoning board first.
  

Without a funeral director on hand, be prepared to help out: instruct unskilled pallbearers, pin on boutonnires, and perhaps fold and present the flag. Practice the paper football triangle in case of a protocol emergency.
—Eric Reed, with statistics from Newsweek

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