Your Funeral Guy: Green and Natural Burials are on the way.

A natural burial(or green burial site ) site is woodland in which the dead are buried, wrapped in a shroud or put in coffins-caskets- of pine, cardboard or some other biodegradable material. The site is dedicated a conservation area. The grave sites bear small markers  made with flush stones to the ground. Sometimes a GPS marker is in involved.

Aside from green or natural cemeteries, another popular green alternative is the evolving into artificial ocean reefs. Since 1998,  Eternal Reefs(Atlanta) has taken cremated ashes and mixed them with concrete to create reef balls, which weigh between 400 and 4,000 pounds. The balls get placed  in special  places in the ocean  creating artificial reefs. Coral polyps, anemones and underwater creatures attach themselves to these  balls over time.

A reef  ball memorial starts  from $995  according to Eternal Reefs (Atlanta).

Home funerals are another option. Green and  home funerals go together. A Funeral at home take us back to before the Civil War when Americans  had home funerals handling  and burying their Loved Ones. This also enhances the grief recovery process.

In Texas, folks can act as the funeral directors, retrieve a death certificate and have a  home funeral with a  burial  in their backyard if the city,county permits it. Be sure to check with your state and local authorities to pursue  this option.

Green and Natural Funerals and Burials are on the way. In almost all cases they are a lower cost funeral.

Be sure to lower your funeral expenses.

Your Funeral Guy,

Your Funeral Guys blog.

Your Funeral Guy: Call Funeral Directors to honesty on Funeral Cost

Your Funeral Guy: Call Funeral Directors to honesty on Funeral Cost

Recently I thanked a Funeral Director on another blog for his honesty on Funeral Cost.

Here is what I said it is worth repeating here:

“Thank you for your honesty.

we share a trust level well short of that of mechanics, stockbrokers, real estate and insurance agents. This information should be a wake up call.

Only a few in our profession are this honest and candid. On another blog on this site I have mentioned & commented on some scandals. They are the result of the sins of more than a few. Let it be known that inspite of some blogs and comments that are tough, I have withheld information from the media on these events. Instead I have called on Leaders in the Funeral Industry to be honest. You sir are a part of the city set on the hill.

Your ethics are appreciated. I love helping families and for that reason I wrote a new book called Rest in Peace. In this work I declare that there are honest ethical funeral directors like yourself who are willing to embrace the changes that are to come!”

It is my hope that the ILLINOIS FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION (IFDA )will embrace ethics and honesty.

Right now I just find myself too busy helping folks lower the cost of their funerals…to keep up with this.

The IFDA knows the changes that are coming.

To the IFDA I Wish you the best.

There will be blogs here from time to time as things become public on the IFDA Funeral cost issue and the “IFDA Preneed Trust.”

The IFDA has had it’s wake up call.

Earlier this year it came out that the IFDA- had mis managed 40 Million Dollars of the folks “IFDA Preneed Trust” money in Illinois.

Beware of organizations like the IFDA in keeping Funeral Directors Honest and keeping your lower cost funeral Specific State Senator Randall Hulfgren refused to take action on this along with hultgrenfh. Hultgren Funeral Home is not the only culprit. Trimble Funeral Homes www.trimblefuneralhomes.com had family on the IFDA committees and has refused comment on the IFDA Preneed Trust situation inspite of positve press from…Quad-City Dispatch

More information on keeping funeral directors honest can be found here including average funeral cost:

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral by R Brian Burkhardt and Matt Bacak. #1 International Best Selling Author Jason Oman also gave thumbs up to this book. This book is published by Morgan James Publishing.

Your Funeral Guy, R Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director, Author, Blogger, State of Illinois

Your Funeral Guy:Green Burial, Green Funeral –Lower Funeral Cost

Your Funeral Guy:Green Burial, Green Funeral does not always mean Lower Funeral Cost. Seattle, Maine, North Carolina, San Francisco all have places that are starting to become in this new trend.It has been happening in England. Just like any funeral you get what you pay for and you should pay less funeral cost and still get great service.

Two books have contributed to the Green Burial Situation.

Mark Harris’s “Grave Matters”:

Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial by Mark Harris

And “Rest in Peace” by R. Brian Burkhardt and Matt Bacak.

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral by R Brian Burkhardt and Matt Bacak

Both these books creatively examine the issues around green funerals and burials.

More information on this can be found at the Funeral Consumer Alliance, Green Burial Council and the AARP

in this article:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/consumersmarts/archives/141653.asp

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Your Funeral Guy: History Channel Special to run Cremation-Funeral Cost Special.-June 20th 2008

Do you want funeral cost lowered? Low cost cremation anyone? Green cremation anyone? Yes- the History Channel is to run a Funeral Cost Cremation -”Special on the TV show Modern Marvels on the History Channel- (June 20th 2008) If you miss it this it will be most likely re-aired.

It will also include information on medical organ donation.

Credit goes to The Funeral Insider Guys on this one:

“History Channel To Explore Death in Modern Marvels: Corpse Tech

“The History Channel will explore cremation, the role of the medical examiner, organ and tissue donation and more during a show to air at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 20th in MODERN MARVELS: CORPSE TECH.The show’s theme will be “Adventures of the Body After Life.”

In a news release, Facultatieve Technologies announced that a portion of the show would feature its cremation equipment.

Check your local listings to make sure you don’t miss the program.”

Here is a link to this quote:

http://www.katesboylston.com/fsx_jun13/fsxjun13b.html:

Here is a quote from the a company  featured in this special.

These below average  funeral cost options are addressed in

June 20th, 8.00 pm: Facultatieve Technologies on the History Channel
In America, the popular Modern Marvels programme is broadcast daily by the ‘History Channel’. Each programme deals with unusual stories behind a broad range of subjects; from simple tools and technical discoveries to human miracles. On 20 June 2008 (8.00 pm), it will dedicate an entire programme to cremation and its origins, with Facultatieve Technologies being invited as the expert opinion. This is to be expected, as Facultatieve Technologies leads the pack in the field of designing, constructing and maintaining cremation ovens, both in the US and across the globe. This international organisation has been active in the branch since 1908, endowing with it a vast repository of in-house experience and expertise. The programme meets the staff, and visits the main site with all its facilities. It will cover the history of cremation, but will chiefly focus on its future, discussing, for instance, the environmentally-friendly units made by Facultatieve Technologies in Medina. Would you like to know more, or watch previous Modern Marvels programmes? Then click here Here is the link:

http://www.facultatieve-technologies.com/webgen.aspx?p=992&o=7260

Your Funeral Guy gives credit where Credit is due.

More information can be found here:

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral by R Brian Burkhardt and Matt Bacak. #1 International Best Selling Author Jason Oman also gave thumbs up to this book.

Your Funeral Guy, R Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director, Author, Blogger, State of Illinois

Your Funeral Guy Disney World could help folks with Funeral Cost.

Scattering your ashes at Disney world can be a low funeral cost option.You see in most cases no one probably will know if you scatter your ashes at Disney World on a ride. This is more than an an urban funeral cost legend. Some folks are violently opposed to this. I do not think that Walt Disney the Low Cost Funeral Guy and cremation pioneer would oppose this. I do not think the FTC,or the AARP would be against it.

Unofficial funeral directors let folks know they can scatter ashes where it is not allowed.

Several years ago Channel 6 in Orlando Reported:

“Possible Scattering Of Human Remains On Disney Rides Reported
Ride Closed, Police Alerted After Woman Seen Dumping Substance On Ride

Disneyland workers were recently forced to close the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction after a ride security camera caught a woman apparently dumping human remains, in what may be a growing trend.

Workers at the Anaheim theme park spotted the woman sprinkling an unidentified substance into the water on the “Pirates” ride. Anaheim police were notified of the incident.

The woman told Disney park workers that the substance she dumped was baby powder, but officials are investigating the possibility that she sprinkled human ashes, Local 6 reported.

Some Disney watchers said park-goers tell them that people smuggling in the cremated remains of their loved ones and then sprinkling ashes on rides has been going on for a while.

They said it started at the Haunted Mansion, but now the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride is growing in popularity.

…

Disney officials said they were unaware of any confirmed ash-scattering incidents in the park and didn’t believe it to be a problem, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Park officials said there was no real way of knowing if cremated remains were dumped into the “Pirates”ride.”

Simply Google scatter ashes at Disney World for more information.

More information can be found here:

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral by R Brian Burkhardt and Matt Bacak. #1 International Best Selling Author Jason Oman also gave thumbs up to this book. This book is published by Morgan James Publishing.

Your Funeral Guy, R Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director, Author, Blogger, State of Illinois

Your Funeral Guy: Social Network for the Dead with Funeral Cost

Funeral Cost dollars are now being shifted to Tributes.com with the Wall Street Journal the lead investor via the internet. Funeral cost may increase because there will be packages for funeral homes and families. Now trying to get your funeral cost dollar is the WSJ and the founder of Monster.com {Jeff Taylor started Monster.com and eons.com}

He has stated he has devoted his entire life to taking the Newspaper online. This time he is going for the obituary dollar and hopes to get the cooperation of the traditional funeral homes, bypassing you guessed it the local Newspaper.

The article is in the magazine Wired:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/startups/news/2008/05/tributes

This was predicted along with the rise of online obituaries

in my  book Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral “

These places are his competition: SweetMemoriesSite.com, ChristianMemorials.com and, PreciousMemoriesAndMore.com  as well as legacy.com

Not surprising there will be memorial packages for both funeral homes and people who have just had a death in their family.

Many Funeral Homes have their own memorial websites, This will probably be a great success because there will be an easy search of the Social Security Data Base. This is also the ultimate in social networking. This will make it possible for these folks to knock the competition dead. It is all quite scary.

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral by R Brian Burkhardt and Matt Bacak. #1 International Best Selling Author Jason Oman also gave thumbs up to this book. This book is published by Morgan James Publishing.

Your Funeral Guy, R Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director, Author, Blogger, State of Illinois