Say Good Bye With Confidence: Funerals and Funeral Homes

If you are in the process of deciding your funeral arrangements as a part of your living will, you may find yourself stuck regarding one key issue: choosing between cremation and burial. Choosing your final resting place and the state your remains will be in can be a challenging decision to make. And you might not know about the pros and cons of each choice. Get to know some of the facts that can help you decide between burial and cremation. Then, you can make the decision that is right for you and your wishes.

Cremation Is Often Less Expensive Than Burial

One of the things to keep in mind when you are making your end-of-life plans is the cost of services involved. Burial can involve extensive costs, from renting the funeral home for the viewing, to embalming, the rental of the hearse, the burial plot, and the headstone among other costs. These all add up quickly making burial a fairly pricey option. 

Cremation, on the other hand, can have fewer fees involved. If you forego the viewing rental prior to cremation, you will not have embalming costs or the cost of renting the facility for the viewing. Cremation itself is inexpensive. The most expensive item involved is usually the urn. 

If you are looking to save money on your funeral costs so that more of your money goes to family, then a basic cremation services package may be just the ticket for you. 

Burial Is Less Environmentally Friendly

Another issue to keep in mind when it comes to choosing your final resting place is the environmental impact your choices make. If you are an environmentalist, burial may not be the best choice for you. 

Burial is commonly considered a source of environmental contamination. This includes the environmental impact of the remains themselves (because of the embalming chemicals involved) as well as the casket. 

Cremation, on the other hand, is more environmentally sound. Even if the remains are scattered somewhere, they have minimal environmental impact. And, in fact, cremated remains can benefit the environment if you choose to have those remains used in nature-building ways. Remains can be mixed into food for a newly planted tree by the cremation services provider for example. There are even artificial reefs that utilize cremated remains to help rebuild ocean eco-systems. 

Now that you know some of the deciding factors between cremation and burial, you can better decide which option is right for you. For more information about cremation services, contact companies such as Morris Nilsen Funeral Chapel.