Jeremy Marcus Debt Can Help You Keep Costs Down
The tie that binds us all is that eventually we will all have to deal with the passing of a loved one. And one of the most difficult aspects of this is dealing with the arrangements and bills while steeling yourself through the grief. It’s certainly a difficult situation. And the one thing none of us want to think about during such a trying time is money and budgets for funeral ceremonies. Ideally, finances wouldn’t be an issue as we’d all prefer money to not be an option or ascribe a monetary value to the celebration of a loved one’s life. Realistically, this isn’t an option for most of us. Especially since a loved one passing away is an unexpected incident you don’t necessarily plan for.
Jeremy Marcus Debt wants you to understand that though this is a trying time, you do have to understand that like any other service, funeral proceedings are a business. And like most businesses, the cost for services is trending upward rather than downward. And as prices continue to climb, consumers face increasing difficulty in paying for these proceedings and often fall into debt.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the median cost of a funeral is about $6,078. And because the average American doesn’t have an extra six grand lying around, more often than not, people opt to charge funeral expenses to their credit cards.
But this is just the start. Like Jeremy Marcus Debt mentioned earlier, funeral services are a business. You could even call it a thriving industry. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), about 7,000 people die every day in America. And like most businesses, funeral homes make their money by upselling you. Whether it’s supersizing at McDonald’s or referring you to a headstone dealer the logic is the same. And because the majority of funeral directors’ salaries are commission-based, they have an incentive to upsell you.
So before you begin signing checks and swiping cards, there are a few things Jeremy Marcus Debt wants you to know there are several ways to save money while planning your loved one’s funeral proceedings.
- Realize that funeral homes are not members of the clergy: It is a common misconception to assume that funeral homes, and the people that work in them, are members of the clergy. They’re not. They’re a business that is either family run or more commonly, part of a publicly-traded corporation. Knowing this, it behooves you to treat them like a business.
- Shop around: Because most people treat funeral homes as an extension of the church, they don’t bother to shop around. In most cases, people simply choose the funeral home closest to their house or the one their family has used for generations. When spending thousands of dollars on a car, you would never walk into one dealership and accept their first offer. You would compare prices, negotiate and ultimately choose the vehicle that best suits your needs. The same applies here. There are several sites like FuneralDescisions.com which offer instant quotes.
- Cremation: While burials remain the most common choice, more individuals are opting for cremation. The average cremation costs just over $3,000, which is about half of the price of a funeral. And if cremating your loved one is the right option for you, you can also purchase your own urn rather than buying one from the funeral home.
Jeremy Marcus Debt understands that deaths are a trying time for anyone. But following these steps may ease at least some of the burden.
The post Jeremy Marcus Debt Outlines How to Avoid Excessive Funeral Expenses appeared first on Jeremy Marcus 321.
