# Estimated Cost of Cremation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333 "2012-05-18T16:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/1 "2012-05-18T16:38:25Z")
Admittedly, not one my most popular things to write about, but I think it’s better to get things in order so that my family is burdened as little as possible when I croak. As an honorably discharged Veteran, I know I get $300.00 from the VA and $255.00 from Social Security. If I have no life insurance, can y’all give me an estimate as to that would leave? I know you’re going ask WHY I don’t have life insurance, right? Well, the most reputable ones won’t insure me, and I’m just now getting around to checking the cheaper ones. Also, I’m just curious how much total cremation (along with a memorial service) might cost. Appreciate it! Quasi ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/2 "2012-05-18T16:41:32Z")
IIRC, my father’s cremation and such cost around $2500. He had prepaid it years before. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/3 "2012-05-18T16:43:42Z")
Someone just wrote in to a financial guy online, and mentioned he had just paid $3500 for a relative’s cremation. I thought they were cheaper than that. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/4 "2012-05-18T17:04:42Z")
Well, according to the National Funeral Directors’ Association, the average burial/funeral costs 6-7k. So a cremation would be about half that. Pre-paid sounds like the way to go. One insurance company (the one Alex Trebek shills for) has a 2 year waiting period. Definitely NOT the way to go for me! 🙂 Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/5 "2012-05-18T17:12:27Z")
We just did this for my dad - one evening memorial wake and cremation. We rented a casket for the memorial since it looked weird without it. It was $4,790.00, which includes almost $500 for obits in two papers. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/6 "2012-05-18T17:26:50Z")
From my wife’s cremation last year: ```auto Transfer of remains (45 miles), Basic Services of Funeral Director & Staff and Hearse to Crematory $2195 Cremation container $100 Memorial cards $100 12 copies of death certificate $147 Disposition permit $31 Newspaper obituary $438.75 Crematory expense $270 Medical Examiner fee $100 Total $3381.75 ``` You can probably save a couple hundred by omitting the memorial cards and get fewer death certificates. Obituary was for one paper. The cremation container is a state-mandated cardboard box to hold the body in the cremation chamber; may not be required in your state. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/7 "2012-05-18T17:29:30Z")
_National_ papers, right? **Sateryn**? I can’t see a local paper charging that much. Q ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/8 "2012-05-18T17:37:13Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > _National_ papers, right? **Sateryn**? I can’t see a local paper charging that much. In my wife’s case, it was a local paper. We are not talking about a five line death notice; this is an obituary that says something about the deceased’s life beyond birth, death and survivors. You would be surprised how expensive an obituary is. Hers had a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/9 "2012-05-18T17:43:13Z")
Hmmm. Okay. Well, I’ve made plans for _my_ wake and I send them over to **D** ’s machine as I think of them. And here’s something I did _not_ know: You _do not_ have to buy a casket from the funeral home according to a mandate from the FTC. You can buy direct from the vendor, which may save a little money. Guess where I learned that? Law and Order SUV. Munch said it. 🙂 Q ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/10 "2012-05-18T17:45:07Z")
I recall my parents’ cremations as \*much \*less expensive than that. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/11 "2012-05-18T17:48:16Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > And here’s something I did _not_ know: You _do not_ have to buy a casket from the funeral home according to a mandate from the FTC. You can buy direct from the vendor, which may save a little money. If you are being cremated, why would you need a casket at all? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/12 "2012-05-18T17:56:50Z")
Sorry, I was unclear. I meant for those folks who DO want to be buried. 🙂 I don’t reckon they’d accept the box my fridge came in (Kenmore) as a substitute for that $100.00 cardboard one, would they? 🙂 Q ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/13 "2012-05-18T18:25:35Z")
Depending on your situation and if you want some sort of viewing, there may be other ways to get a cremation much cheaper. When my mother died I was offered cremation at a lower price, but there would have been no viewing. You might also get a discount for paying up front. There are a lot of things you can look into to save money, you are not required to be [embalmed](http://homefuneral.info/). You can have a funeral in your own home, something people did less then 100 years ago. Buy a casket from Costco, though I don’t think you can do that until it’s needed, to save money as well. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/14 "2012-05-18T18:56:51Z")
Well Costco won’t sell a casket in Georgia, **Edward**. I’ve never been to a funeral where someone was cremated. Is it standard procedure for folks to view the body in a rental casket BEFORE it’s cremated? I have been to funerals where folks who were going to be buried were laid out for viewing, but personally, looking at a dead person in a casket makes me wanna hurl, so I’d rather already be gone, and since the funeral home has a monitor, folks can see pictures of me while I was alive and batshit. 🙂 Do y’all think making a video is morbid? Thanks, everyone for the input! Q ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/15 "2012-05-18T18:58:59Z")
When Momma died in 1998, her cremation, services, copies of the DC, etc etc etc was around $1500. When Daddy died in 2008, his cremation, etc etc etc etc was around $3000-$3500. Daddy was retired AF. We set Momma aside (she went “visiting” back and forth between my sister and me) until he died. Then we had them both inurned at the columbarium at Riverside National Cemetery. I wrote Daddy’s obituary, and it ran in the local paper. It also included a color photo of both Momma and Daddy. It was $900. I gagged a little at the cost. But it was for my DADDY. You can shop around. Prepay CAN work for some people, but it also has drawbacks. If you should move, it’s rarely completely transferable. If the funeral home changes hands, the prepay folks may have to pony up more bucks when the time comes. PLEASE verify the money from Social Security. When we filed Daddy’s death certificate at Social Security, I asked about the $255. I was told that is ONLY for people who have dependents at the time of death. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/16 "2012-05-18T19:07:17Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > PLEASE verify the money from Social Security. When we filed Daddy’s death certificate at Social Security, I asked about the $255. I was told that is ONLY for people who have dependents at the time of death. And spouses. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/17 "2012-05-18T19:07:32Z")
You don’t have to have a viewing in a rented casket if you’re choosing cremation. My brother and mom had no viewing. For my brother we had the traditional visitation, and had photo boards made up instead of a body, then we had the usual Catholic Mass with is urn on the altar. For my mother we had a service at a city park at a later date with her minister and some rented chairs. My mother would have hated being stared at in a casket and my brother would only have appreciated it if we could have done something crazy and shocking with his body or his outfit. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/18 "2012-05-18T19:14:36Z")
What a difference 10 years makes, huh, **VOW**? Yeah, I WILL check everything out, including my veteran’s death benefit. My dad had a (what is it called?) a drill team to do his 21 gun salute, but he was a lifer and I wasn’t. So anyway, I’m sending them my DD214 and they’ll send me a certificate of elegibility, but the SS thing, can my wife be considered a dependent? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/19 "2012-05-18T19:16:22Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > _National_ papers, right? **Sateryn**? I can’t see a local paper charging that much. > > Q Nope. The two NW Indiana papers. They stick it to you but good. That’s honestly the only thing I was shocked by. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333/20 "2012-05-18T19:18:32Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > So anyway, I’m sending them my DD214 and they’ll send me a certificate of elegibility, but the SS thing, can my wife be considered a dependent? Your spouse is eligible for the $255 death benefit if she was living with you at the time of your death. [http://www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/ifyou7.htm](http://www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/ifyou7.htm) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimated-cost-of-cremation/622333.md?page=2)