You can Make it easily through a funeral without…-yourfuneralguy

Yes, you can make it through a Funeral without the full  use of a Funeral Direct0r, and expensive casket. In many cases however it is still best to hire a funeral director but not for all of his services. You do not have to get a Casket from the traditional funeral directors- Aurora, Batesville, or York Casket Company.

In fact if you are informed, some of the services of a funeral director can be done, by your friends, church members, clergy and others. In actuality you can do some of it before you die.

To some this may seem radical but it is quite simple.

From Rest in Peace Insiders tips to the Low cost Less Stress Funeral.

“The everyday role of the funeral director has been changing
over time. Some of the funeral director’s functions are not
as necessary as they once were. The reality is that today the
average person can plan a funeral that reduces the role
of the funeral director.” Copyrighted Material  from R.Brian Burkhardt

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Latest Time Line in the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal-YourFuneralGuy

Latest in the Butr Oak Cemetery Scandal

Revealed here the latest  time line events in the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal. Like the the horrible events in July these events are bizarre, but not quite  the horror  show of 300 grave desecrations and  human bones

being piled up across the cemetery.

On September 15th 2009  Governor Pat Quinn’s cemetery oversight task force gave its report. Click here to view it.

A Bankruptcy judge gave back to Perpetua Inc the keys to Burr Oak cemetery on September 17th 2009.

There was a  protest March on the Cemetery on September 20th 2009

Control of the cemetery was taken away from Perpetua AGAIN on Sept 21st 2009 with the help of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

Perpetua lost control of the cemetery on 09/21/09 after the intervention of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

On September 21st 2009 Congressman Bobby Rush Introduced nation wide Cemetery and Funeral Reform with the the Introduction of The Bereaved Consumers Protection Act

So now we are facing Statewide Cemetery and Funeral Regulation in the State of Illinois and across the United States of America?

What’s Next?

Funeral industry|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy

Now A Funeral Cost Last Stand-Your Funeral Guy.

In an effort to come in under the average cost of a funeral an Illinois Resident has taken her stand on  preneed for her family. She has recovered funeral cost money $1000.00 USD of the principal that was paid in 2003.

This lady successfully stood up to an Illinois Funeral Directors Association Funeral Home.  Not only did she negotiate with the Funeral Home(advocated here), she negotiated with the Comptroller of the State of Illinois, and the Illinois Funeral Directors Association-IFDA. You can view the full article here: Pre-need Funeral Investor Demands Repayment of Principal

This is a helpful example of how you can come in under the average cost of a funeral and negotiate your funeral cost.

The scenario is also instructive on why one should not prepay or purchase a preneed contract.

This is outlined in the funeral cost book.

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral.
funeral cost

Blog by Your Funeral Guy
rest in peace insiders tips to the low cost less stress funeral
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Your Funeral Guy: The Average Funeral Cost of Traditional Funeral is over $8000.00 USD

The Average Cost of a Funeral in 2008 was $8000.00 USD +and maybe more. This year the NFDA  raised the average funeral cost in 2006 to $7,323.00 Dollars. This has been mentioned at this blog. Now how can this happen? The National Funeral Directors Association.collects statistics from funeral homes and funeral directors around the United States. If they receive more information they change the numbers.

Cost for traditional Funerals has been trending upward.  but at the same time lower cost funerals such as green funerals, cremation and direct burial are also growing to  the broad prosperity of all. This also has sent the traditional funeral cost upward. It has cut into funeral home profits.

So after much research I am lowballing the average cost of a funeral in 2008 to be $8000.00 USD.

The Over 50 Website declares the same average funeral cost. “the average US funeral costs over $8,000 as far as I can deduce from the sparse information that is published, and it seems very easy for funerals to cost from $10,000 to $20,000 or more!”

More information on how to lower average funeral cost can be found here:

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

Your Funeral Guy.

Your Funeral Guy: Lower Cost Funeral and the Supreme Court Justice

A Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was an early pioneer of the Lower Cost Funeral

He joined the other Low Cost Funeral Pioneers: Jesica Mitford and Walt Disney!

My first encounter with the lower cost funeral occurred in 1971 while I was at my First College, Illinois State University. Nixon was dominating the New As the D.C urban legend goes he  wanted Three things. 1)Simple 2) Cheap 3) No open casket. Simple meant no frills. Cheap meant a low cost funeral No open casket meant a closed casket with no public viewing.
All I remember from 1971 was that there was a large crowd at the funeral and the burial was held at Arlington National Cemetery, and that it was a ceremony filled with emotion.

Little did I know that 30 years later on September 11, 2001 I would enter funeral service and become an advocate of the cost funeral. Hugo Black was truly founder in this cause.
Simple, Cheap, and No Open Casket works for a low cost funeral today. This still works in 2008.

Today this is something of a funeral cost  urban legend.

In 2008 I would reverse the order but leave the same instructions
1) No open Casket in 2008 this means a low cost casket sold on the internet.
2) Cheap means a low cost funeral and maybe a cremation.
3) Simple means a negotiated lower cost funeral with no funeral home scams.

So the 1971 to 2008 update means

1) INTERNET

2) CREMATION and

3) No Funeral Home Scams.

Little did I know that I was later to work at Arlington National Cemetery and write Rest in Peace Insiders Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral.

Your Funeral Guy

R.Brian Burkhardt

Funeral Director and Author

Be Sure to let me know how you lowered the cost of your funerals!

Your Funeral Guy: Three videos on Funeral Cost

The First of the Three Videos on Funeral Cost is covered here to day.

This “last lecture” covers the dreams in your life and how you may achieve them  This is a real lesson on how you can continue through life with funeral cost that will count. It is nothing to do with the monetary cost in funeral. The funeral cost of one’s life….is the subject here.

What is stated leaves out religion and spirituality, but  not the true funeral cost of death and dying. The virtual reality guy takes us right into reality of death, funeral and funeral cost.

The video and last lecture of Randy Pauch.

He died of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 47.

Here is the best lecture on Funeral Cost, Death, Dying etc, of recent times. Viewing the whole video is well worth your time.

http://theimpactfactor.com/blog/

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:Preneed or Prepaid Product may be funeral cost fraud.

Preneed or prepaid Product may be funeral cost fraud.

People often say “preneed product” will lock in prices today and save you money on funeral cost. But inflation and the loss of interest on your money are issues. Often funeral directors get paid a monthly commission on prepaid policies.

Often they get a check every month. It is from your funeral cost money. This is a check from your money. It may actually be better for you to get a check. Some people believe that because they have a preneed product it is still their money. This is not the case.

Many folks in Nursing homes have a preneed policy with a funeral director or a company. As time goes on they often lose track as to where the funeral money is. It is important to keep track. But even this may be not enough to stop prepaid fraud on your funeral cost.

This system is proving to be inadequate. National Prearranged Services (-nps, a series of prepaid funeral companies)have had scandals with loss of hundreds of millions across the USA . This is not meant to scare you but even individual funeral directors have run off with money. This is true in almost every state in the country . The legal term for this is fraud.

A funeral directors association has recently lost 40 + million of the folks money do to mismanagement of prepaid funds. This is close to fraud and a high risk situation. This is reported weekly in newspapers.

Now you may simply plan for a lower cost funeral and avoid all this. There are stories of great low cost funerals with how to examples as well. Many of them can be found here in the new book “Rest in Peace” The day of the Funeral Director always ringing twice is becoming a thing of the past .The First time is when he/she tries to get you to prepay your funeral. The second time the Funeral Director rings is at the time Your Loved One Dies.

Not to worry, the low cost funeral is quite doable when you get a few insiders tips .Preplanning your funeral is an important thing to do. Prepaying with preneed is not in your best option. Please do not purchase a preneed policy and risk fraud or loss. What appears  to be lowering the average cost of a funeral may actually raise your funeral cost.

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

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

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

Be sure to let me know about your lower cost funeral.

Your Funeral Guy: Newsweek, FCA, FD’s on funeral cost an issue.

Here is some info on a recent Newsweek article, and consumer info on the funeral cost. An article appeared on the web in Newsweek, with the focus on consumers and funeral cost. This comes from finalembrace.com.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/144482

“Most of us read stories like this and shake our heads, hoping that the general public doesn’t fall for these trumped up reports. I think that we’re being just a little bit foolish. Mr. Slocum has nothing better to do with his time than stir up more unwarranted concern and fear, in an attempt to garner more memberships, sell more books (over 5300 publications sold in 2006) and solicit more donations which pay his salary.

The general public needs to know that there are tens of thousands of local, family-owned funeral homes that work hard every day (and night) to see to every detail at their time of need. And the employees, managers and officers of just over 2000 corporately-owned firms are providing similar services.

The employees of the Funeral Consumer’s Alliance rely upon donations from scared individuals to pay their bills. Funeral professionals rely upon satisfied and comforted neighbors to keep their families fed.

One group peddles fear and scare tactics. The other offers hope, comfort and peace-of-mind.

Which is more noble?–Tim from final embrace.com

http://finalembrace.com/blog/

It is not really all that black and white. In fact like most things it is grey.

Funeral Directors do not generally inform folks of their funeral options. They avoid talking about consumer rights. and the funeral rule and yes home funerals.

More from final embrace:

“As someone who sits on the board of a local charity, I also have issues with any organization that calls itself a charity, but spends so much of its income on overhead. The Red Cross has gotten flack for spending just $0.10 of every dollar on administrative costs, but it appears that for the FCA, that amount is significantly higher.

I think we can all agree that we want our consumer families to make the best, most well-informed decisions possible. The question is whether or not they are hearing all sides of the story.”-Michelle Carter

Michelle Carter is the former owner of the Center For Transition, a grief counseling and funeral consulting company. A licensed funeral director, Michelle is now the Assistant Manager of the E.O. Curry Funeral Home in Peekskill, NY.”

http://finalembrace.com/blog/

Michelle Carter is a former independent contractor operating with a new funeral home. She is an example of how your funeral cost can be lowered by engaging a funeral director without a traditional funeral home.

More info can be found here on all sides of the story 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

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

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

Besure to let me know about your lower cost funeral.

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