If your parent passed away and there were no prior funeral plans made, it can be difficult to afford a funeral. This is because the average funeral costs $7,640 and can get much higher than this. Fortunately, there are ways you can save money and still give your parent a nice funeral. Keep reading so you can start planning everything. 

Save Money on the Casket

One thing that can be expensive is the casket. When you go to the funeral home and they show you caskets, make sure they also show you the least expensive ones. In some cases, you may only be shown the expensive ones first. 

You can also purchase a casket somewhere else and may very well find that you can get one much cheaper. Talk with the funeral home you are using to make sure this is okay for you to do. If so, they will likely allow you to have the casket shipped directly to the funeral home to make things much easier for you. You can find caskets online or there may be stores in your area that sell caskets. If you like one at the funeral home, take a picture of it to help you when choosing one. 

Choose Cremation

If your parent did not specify how they wanted to be buried, cremation is a way to save money. You will not have to worry about purchasing a casket or paying for embalming the body. Also, you do not have to even have a burial if you don't want to. Instead, you can scatter their ashes wherever you want and then set up a memorial somewhere else for your parent. 

With cremation, the funeral home prepares the body and places it in a container. The container is then placed in the cremation chamber. When the process is completed, the funeral home will place the ashes into a container for you. If you want to purchase an urn, you can have the funeral home place the ashes into the urn for you. Many funeral homes also sell urns. You could spread the ashes somewhere, plant a tree and place ashes in the hole before you put the tree in, purchase special necklaces that will hold a tiny part of the ashes, and much more. 

There are many more ways you can save money on a funeral, such as shopping around for flowers, shopping around for different funeral homes, and more. 

For more information, visit local funeral homes.