Your Funeral Guy: SCI Offer To buy Stewart Enterprises-Not good for Funeral Cost!

SCI Offer to buy Stewart Enterprises is not good for Funeral Cost! Generally it is my experience that these companies avoid informing you of your low funeral cost options. They prefer you to use their expensive funeral locations.(SCI=Service corporation International)

In Fact the actions of these two corporations and their unwillingness to let consumers know their rights was a large part of the reason the 21st century “Rest in Peace.” was written. If you read this work you can walk out with a lower cost funeral at any SCI or Stewart Enterprises Funeral Home. The author guarantees it. SCI is the major funeral corporation and along with Stewart Enterprises.

Stewart Enterprises rejected SCI’s bid to buy the company in a deal valued at $881.7 million and others value it at 1.3 billion. SCI said they might up the bid. SCI said they are likely to give another the offer.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5887838.html

These corporations are famous for keeping family names on funeral homes and selling funerals for high prices. Usually these folks will not help you with a lower cost funeral. If you check out this book you will find help in planning a low cost funeral and walk away paying much less.

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: Funeral Cost remains of NPS picked over.

Funeral Cost remains of NPS picked over. As Funeral homes pay for this your cost goes up.

NPS- National Prearrange Services- Funeral Cost Scandal hits 500 Million. Here is a quote from a recent article on Funeral Cost. “The FBI is interested. Funeral homes across the nation wonder if they will be forced to pay for tens of thousands of funerals. Authorities are tracing the various fates of $500 million in prepaid funeral funds.”

More importantly as Funeral homes pay for this your cost goes up.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/3F4D6DC2E8D284FC862574810011E33E?OpenDocument

Again the lesson here it is do not do preneed. Preplan but do not prepay. No matter what is said a low cost or lower cost funeral cannot be done by prepaying a funeral director.

Will the same fate happen to the IFDA? IFDA Preneed trust? Illinois Funeral Directors Association? There loss was only 40 million dollars! Look inside the funeral cost book.

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

The “Google Books Search” give a look inside the book.

http://books.google.com/books?q=r+brian+burkhardt&btnG=Search+Books

Your Funeral Guy: Save on Funeral Cost- Refuse Embalming

It always amazes me when people say they did not know they have the right to refuse embalming and save on funeral cost. Under a body of Congressional law called the funeral rule…You can refuse embalming and choose other options. This is back to the funeral cost basic of refusing embalming and harmful chemicals on the environment. After refusing embalming you can

1. Have a closed casket.

2. Choose cremation.

3 Have a home funeral where the deceased is packed in ice.

4. Have a memorial service at an alternate location such as a church.

The Peoples Memorial Association from the State of Washington has some good advice on all of this. Here is the link to helpful information.

http://www.peoples-memorial.org/planning_tips.cfm

More helpful funeral 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

Be sure to let me know how you lowered the cost of your funerals.

Your Funeral Guy:Funeral Cost (Cash)- Flashy Websites and Facilities

This a tale of two funeral homes and their funeral cost. Funeral Cost Cash is eaten up by flashy Websites and facilities.Yes Funeral cost cash is often taken over by marketing websites and fancy corporate like funeral facilities. Worse yet corporate funeral homes are often disguised as Family Funeral Homes. The major corporations SCI and others do this. It is essential to know who you are dealing with in keeping down funeral cost.

A model funeral home: Barton Family Funeral Service states its philosophy well in keeping down Funeral Cost.

“Barton Family Funeral Service is founded on the belief that there is a better way to deal with death than the expensive offerings of the corporate funeral industry. We urge a return to traditional values, beliefs, and cultural practices that are often compromised when traditional funerals cost too much. The growing trend toward personalized last rites is really just a return to the ways our ancestors faced the reality of death.”

http://bartonfuneral.com/

By contrast this Funeral Home promotes it’s fancy facility and hides it’s prices behind a flash opener of it’s upscale facility.

http://www.calvertmemorial.com/

This flash is designed to take your funeral cost cash. Worse yet from our family to yours is actually quite a chain of funeral homes with expensive costs.

Not to mention it is an IFDA Preneed Trust Funeral Home and NPS (national prearranged services) funeral home. Two Preneed Scandals that have rocked Illinois and the USA! Beware national prearranged services and the Illinois Funeral Directors Association

Flash always takes your funeral cost cash!

More information on lowering the average funeral cost 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

The “Google Books Search” give a look inside the book.

http://books.google.com/books?q=r+brian+burkhardt&btnG=Search+Books

Your Funeral Guy:Funeral Cost too High in the USA!(last 2 weeks)

Your Funeral Guy:Funeral Cost too High in the USA!(last 2 weeks). Funerals always cost too much in any situation because a person is involved. But the death of these folks is too much funeral cost to the  world. May they all rest in peace. All three.

First there was the Tim Russert  Wake and Memorial Service:
The funeral cost to the nation was too great.
Maria Shriver read the poem….The Little Ship in Washington DC. Bruce Springsteen was front and center.
It would be wrong not to repeat it. It is one of the best funeral poems ever written.

The Wife of the Actor and  California governor “Arnold” gave a great funeral poem.

“The Little Ship”

I stood watching as the little ship sailed out to sea. The setting sun tinted his white sails with a golden light, and as he disappeared from sight a voice at my side whispered, “He is gone”.

“But the sea was a narrow one. On the farther shore a little band of friends had gathered to watch and wait in happy expectation. Suddenly they caught sight of the tiny sail and, at the very moment when my companion had whispered, “He is gone” a glad shout went up in joyous welcome, “Here he comes!”

A Good post on this is here:
http://www.tellinitlikeitis.net/2008/06/maria-shriver-poem-at-tim-russerts-funeral-service.html

Then there was the  funeral song “over the rainbow”. People walked out of his memorial service to this Rainbow. Was this a blessing from the man upstairs(apologies to atheists if this does not make you a believer nothing will)

If you do not cry during this Video! You are not human. Barack Obama and John McCain sat together at this event. If you ever click on a Your Funeral Guy, funeral cost link click on this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBddo1RGiJU

Then there was the Tasha Tudor death: The great literary illustrator original  green lady died.
Kids will miss her. Even guys read “The Secret Garden.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/22/AR2008062202026.html”

As if this was not enough we also lost to funeral cost, George Carlin the modern Free Speech almost pornographic comedian. The famous 7 words guy.

Even Jerry Seinfeld is coming back to honor him.

In the 2 weeks Funeral Cost has been too high in the USA!
May all Rest in Peace.
Now there is more funeral story and history in Rest in Peace.

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

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: Low Funeral Cost Cemetery Video and TV

Here is You tube video that shows why low funeral cost cemeteries are needed. The low cost funeral cemetery is a green cemetery. Update Nov 18, 2008 This link has been taken down by you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GGvaHFbJZY

try this link instead for a view of a low cost cemetery.

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=92649&videoChannel=74

CSI, Donation to Science, Organ Donor, Green Funeral, Cremation, but not Funeral Cost–TV. Modern Marvels:Corpse Tech.
This was a very informative television program. From the decomposing of bodies, to the traditional funeral business. There was even a look inside cremation ovens.

The cemetery of the future was addressed. The focus was on the San Francisco Area. The Green Cemetery and the green funeral.
Funeral Cost that can be saved in cremation and green was not addressed,
The good news is that the series Modern Marvels: Corpse Tech continues to shown on the History channel.

The shows how the dead help the living.
Organ donation, tissue donation and research.
The newest and best cremation machines were featured.
Good Stuff.

The statistics given in the show were not entirely accurate coming from 2006.
Cremation rates are up. Funeral Cost is down.

More info with average Funeral Cost 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

Getty Images RF

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 Dear Abby opposes Trolling for Preneed Funeral Cost.

Dear Abby opposes Trolling for Preneed Funeral Cost. Even the National Funeral Directors Association( NFDA did an article on this one). When you visit a traditional Funeral Home watch for trolls on Funeral Cost.Over a year ago Dear Abby posted a letter on what you can run into at a traditional funeral home…someone trolling for prearrangement funeral cost(s)

“A funeral home trolling for business from grieving friends and relatives of the deceased mother and daughter two days after the granddaughter’s funeral? And to use the signed book (to receive memorials) for names, addresses and phone numbers to “promote business” is, in my eyes, unconscionable! Your thoughts, please.

Doris”

This is the old bait and switch trick applied to funeral homes & funeral cost.

Dear Abby’s response:

“DEAR DORIS: Just when I think I have seen it all, a letter like yours lands on my desk.

Whether the person who called you was the funeral director or a salesman, that person is his own worst enemy.

“People with such little sensitivity for the feelings of others should not be in a people-oriented profession.

If that man’s employer reads this, I strongly recommend that he be relegated to the back room, where the individuals he deals with are far beyond the cares and concerns of this world.”

The full story can be read here:

http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/894628/dear_abby_funeral_home_approaches_mourner_to_garner_business/index.html

The obituary and memorial card were a part of this scam.

watch for trolls in traditional funeral homes.

More information 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