When a loved one passes away, the last thing you want to be bothered with is planning a funeral and figuring out what to do with the remains. Unfortunately, it is a part of life and someone must do it.
The best way to deal with the aftermath of the passing of a loved one is to plan ahead and to explore all options before deciding on a funeral service. You want to choose something that is well within your deceased loved ones’ wishes, but you also want to consider the price and ways to save money throughout the process.
One way to do that is by considering cremation as an option for putting your loved one’s body to rest. Although, often overlooked, cremation is a cost-efficient way to peacefully dispose of the remains that doesn’t require much planning and effort on the grieving family member’s part.
The cremation process is a process of breaking down the leftover remains from a human body after death. Cremation uses either heat or water pressure to turn body tissues and bones into ashes and tiny bone fragments that can be easily and non-invasively disposed of or kept safe within the confines of a jar or any other container.
Cremation services are a common alternative to the traditional burial and funeral ceremony. Cremation is a humane way to rapidly decompose a body so that burial isn’t necessary, and ashes can be kept in the place of the actual physical body.
You are probably wondering, what is the cost of cremation? The cremation cost can vary depending on the location at which you choose to partake in services or the method in which you choose as well. The typical cost however will run anywhere between $2,000-$7,000 which is much lower than the average burial price of about $10,000.
As stated earlier, with the cremation of a body, you can either use heat or water pressure to break down the body tissues and bones into smaller fragments or ashes. This brings us to the two different methods of cremation.
1. Heat-based cremation
2. Water-based cremation
Heat-based cremation is done in a crematory, which is basically a large stone or brick oven, where it uses fire to disintegrate the body into smaller fragments that eventually turn into ashes. Heat-based is the most common cremation process and typically costs a bit less than water-based cremation.
Water-based cremation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, is a method that uses water, pressure, chemicals, and potassium hydroxide to speed up the natural decomposition of the body. The body will eventually break down into tiny fragments, leaving just ashes behind. The water-based cremation process is a slightly more costly method, but also uses just 1/3 of the amount of energy that heat-based cremation uses.
Although this is an average price point, direct cremation will cost you much less and gives you the flexibility to choose how much you want to spend, and how involved you want the ceremony to be. Here are the various package options:
Direct cremation without a ceremony is exactly as it sounds. You just simply cremate the body and return the ashes to the family with no further funeral ceremony or interactions with the cremation team. This will be your cheapest option as the cremation company is less involved. However, many people would prefer to have a ceremony for their deceased loved one so this may not be suitable to everyone.
Cremation with a witness ceremony is a great option for a family looking to keep funeral costs low, but that also wants some type of ceremony to bid their loved one farewell as they disperse their ashes. This option will cost a little more than just a direct cremation, but much less than a traditional funeral.
Finally, you can choose to have your loved one cremated, followed by a full cremation ceremony which will be your most expensive option, for obvious reasons, but worth it for some families.
One very common question that people have regarding cremation services is what about the viewing? You want a proper way to say goodbye to your loved one prior to turning their body into ashes, so how does that all work?
Typically, the family has the choice between a private viewing with just close family members and friends to view the full body prior to cremation or an open casket viewing in the traditional sense, where anybody that knew the deceased person may stop by and see the body.
It’s up to you and what your family wishes may be, but ultimately a viewing is separate from cremation services.
You can work directly with the cremation team to come up with a personalized plan for cremation or work with a funeral home as well. When going through a funeral home you will have to pay the cost of the funeral director, the funeral services, and the price to rent out the space, so this is naturally going to be a more costly option, but some people would prefer this option for a personalized ceremony.
You can also choose to skip the funeral home completely and work through a crematory service. The crematory service will take care of the body as soon as directed to and can make personal arrangements in conjunction with the family’s wishes, just the same as a funeral home would, but for half the price.
Planning a cremation ceremony can be confusing, and a bit overwhelming. This is why you should trust the professionals at Cremation Plus to help you with all your planning needs. Cremation Plus will take care of the body from start to finish, completely cutting out the middleman- funeral home service- and provide you with quality care for just a fraction of the price of a traditional burial or funeral service.
Cremation Plus is available 24/7 for your convenience, and we even offer pre-planning services for cremation. Call today and schedule your appointment with the professionals at Cremation Plus, and rest assured that you will be in professional and caring hands.
