Frugal Funerals

Earlier this summer, we asked Word of Mouth listeners how the economy is changing their daily habits. We received a lot of responses from people who found themselves driving, shopping, and even washing their clothes differently.

No one referred to dying differently. But – no joke – the sluggish economy is changing what people are choosing their final resting place. A growing number is bucking the high-end funeral for simpler, cost-saving measures for laying themselves and loved ones to rest. The traditional American funeral, with wakes, services, expensive coffins, processions, limos and graveside ceremonies, can cost over $6,000, with many reaching much higher numbers.

Some families are choosing the old pine box casket over lavish services. Cremations are also on a sharp rise around the country, from 2 percent of all burials in 1960, to 33 percent today. The cost for a simple cremation can be as low as $250. They are less expensive than traditional burials, and less-land intensive. Joining Word of Mouth with more about this trend is Garen Daly, host of the Frugal Yankee website and radio show, which can be heard live on WNTN in Newton, Mass.

(Photo by Esther Simpson)