ForumGarden

In the U.S., the average wedding costs $20,000 to $25,000 depending on the part of the country that you are living.

The average new baby will cost between $9,000 to $12,000 in the first year.

The average funeral costs will be between $6,000 to $8,000.

This makes funerals relatively cheap by comparison, and yet, the funeral industry gets picked on for their supposedly high costs.

There is as much emotionalism involved in weddings and births as in making funeral arrangements, so one can't say that it is just the bereaved that are taken advantage of.

Births, weddings and funerals are three of the major events in the lives of all of us. Do we just honor births and weddings and dismiss funerals because they are supposedly expensive?

I didn't mention the cost of divorce as that is an event that most would rather forget.:wah:

I think perhaps the prevailing thought with a funeral is that it's a party being thrown for a dead person, so why spend all that money? In truth, it's a ritual that for many bereaved is a necessary comfort and is just as much for those left behind as it is for the one who has left. What you say about births and weddings is very true, Lon, people are taken advantage of then too, especially weddings, but because those are happy occasions we seem not to mind so much, or maybe we just don't really notice. A funeral is different because of the vulnerability... and the guilt if you don't buy just the right things or don't provide the best of everything. I've seen this firsthand myself.

On one hand the funeral director is saying "Surely you'll want this or that special thing for Mrs. Smith...." and then there's someone at your ear whispering "it's not going to matter what you pay- she won't be here to enjoy it." But most of us want to honor at the very least the memory of our loved one.

I think it's mostly the emotional nature of the thing.

Weddings and births generally have a sense of planning around them from the start. Anticipation. Funerals however, often come at the worst time, often on the end of a rack of hospital and doctor bills and there's no money. Even with life insurance there are expenses out of pocket. A proper headstone for instance. The last thing you give the person and the only reminder you'll have left.

I don't mean to imply that all funeral directors are vultures. Not at all. I've met some who were for sure, but I've also known some who were tactful and caring, not at all pushy or greedy even though it is their business.