Tips
Ten Tips for Saving Funeral $$$
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Join FCA SATX today for member-only contracted pricing.
Call 210-341-2213 to prepare you and your loved ones for end-of-life needs or for immediate emergency enrollment.
FCA SATX has a contract with Funeral Caring USA for special member pricing. There may be reciprocal benefits if you move to or die in another state. Supporting a Funeral Consumers Alliance will help to keep this consumer information available for future generations with a modest membership fee.
2. Talk about funerals with family members ahead of time.
That’s the only way everyone will know your plans. At the time of death, survivors may be vulnerable to spend, spend, spend – “to show how much you care.” If your plans are mentioned only in a will, the will may not be read until long after other arrangements have been made.
3. Price shop by telephone, web or in person.
Price-shopping will help you stay within your budget.
4. Save on casket expenses.
Have a family member or friend make one for you, or choose a “minimum container” from the mortuary and drape it with attractive material of your own taste. Caskets may be obtained via the web. It is illegal for a mortuary to charge a “handling fee” for using a casket obtained elsewhere.
5. Take a friend or clergy with you.
If you are funeral shopping at a time of immediate need, take someone who will help you resist subtle pressures to spend more than you want.
6. Consider cremation.
It costs a great deal less to ship cremated remains from one state to another. Cemetery or niche space may cost less than the space needed for body burial. Cremains maybe buried/scattered/kept wherever you choose.
7. Plan a memorial service without the body present.
Private family visitation and “good-byes” can occur in the hospital or home before you call a funeral director. You could use a church, park, or community center for the memorial service. Your pricing options with the body present at the memorial service are higher.
8. Ask for a “grave liner” – rather than a “coffin vault.”
If you prefer body burial, ask for a grave liner instead of a coffin vault. Refer to our newsletter dated September 2020 for more information.
9. More information about Texas funeral law.
10. National Funeral Consumers Alliance website.